Sins of the father (H5-0 season 6)
by wendyonmyown
Summary: A new case for Five-0 brings back a member of there Ohana causing Steve McGarrett to face a future he thought he'd lost at the same time he's forced to remember events from his past. Set before episode 17 Assets was aired. Slight crossover with NCIS L.A and Jag.
1. Chapter 1

SINS OF THE FATHER.

Iolani Palace

FRIDAY 1700 hrs.

"I think that's the last of the reports sent." Steve said as he left his office to meet the other members of the task force. They had just finished up a case, having caught the serial killer who had been targeting newly married couples from the main land. It had been a long tough week, and they were all ready to head home for some rest and a decent night's sleep. "How about we all head over to Side Street for an early dinner?" He suggested, not ready to go home to his empty house this early.

They all looked around at each other, quickly agreeing. Then groaned loudly as Steve's phone rang. "McGarrett," He said in greeting then they all heard the words. "We're on our way."

"Where too," Danny asked, slightly annoyed.

"Warehouse on the docks. HPD responded to a call from security, three bodies were discovered, one victim is still alive. Strung up and tortured, dog tags were found on 2 of the victims, so we need to get moving on the scene before NCIS or AFOSI are involved." Steve said as he headed towards the door, the others following behind.

"Who's AFOSI?" Danny asked trailing behind his partner.

"Air Force office of special investigation's" Steve told him, calling for the lift.

"Why does the military have to have weird names for everything?" He grumbled making the others smile.

...

5-0 excited their vehicles, and approached the police officer's that were stationed at the entrance to the warehouse. They could see the EMT's working on the third victim a short distance away. Duke approached the team, handing three evidence bags to Steve, as they made their way into the warehouse. Steve glanced at the bags noting the dog tag and a thin gold double chain necklace. Steve froze at that. "Duke the woman?"

"She's the one the EMT's are working on." He told 5-0's leader who immediately ran to the ambulance.

Danny had noticed Steve's reaction, and quickly moved towards his partner, instantly knowing something was wrong. When he reached the back of the ambulance, he discovered his partner, clasping the hand of the victim. The biggest shock of all was who their victim was.

"Steve" She crocked out, weakly, grabbing at his hand as tears slid down her face.

"Shah, save your strength Catherine. I'm not going anywhere." He told her as the EMT's carried on working on her. One of the EMT's was filling a syringe with morphine when Catherine started to panic.

"No, no pain meds." She told them panicking as they went to insert the needle in the I'V that they'd set up to replace her fluids. She quickly turned to look at Steve, tears running down her face as she blurted out, "I'm pregnant."

Steve opened his mouth, no sound coming out as he took in the woman before him. To say he was stunned was an understatement, but that was quickly making way to his anger. "What?"

Catherine was freely crying now, the tears streaming down her battered and bruised face, as she sobbed. "So sorry... didn't know... not till...I'd left...wanted to tell you...I tried calling..." She said, between great sobs. She looked away from him then, not wanting to see the anger in his eyes.

"Catherine, look at me." He said in a quiet voice, his hand gently brushing her hair away from her face. He smiled at her as she turned to look at him again. "So 3 months?" He asked.

Catherine turned to look at him, noticing the acceptance in his face. She knew he was angry with her, could see it in his eyes, but she could also see the acceptance of her words. He didn't doubt her words; he knew the baby was his. She nodded her head, moaning at the pain that created, and whispered the word. "Yes."

Steve grinned at her then, glancing at the EMT's who were ready to transport her to the medical Centre. He looked back at her, leaned down and brushed a kiss across her forehead. "I'm just going to fill Danny in, and then I'll ride with you. I'm not letting you out of my sight, either of you." He whispered against her forehead.

Steve gave her hand a quick squeeze, then turned ready to go find his partner. As he exited the ambulance, he spotted his partner nearby. Danny was looking at him with concern; the detective had obviously discovered that it was Catherine that had been found in the warehouse.

"You okay, babe?" Danny asked.

"Yeah." He said swallowing, "I guess you no it's Catherine?"

"Yeah. I saw you run over and I followed." He explained shifting a little uncomfortably, "So should I start calling you daddy?" He asked with a grin.

"You heard?" Steve asked, grinning back at his partner. Steve couldn't help but be pleased with himself over that fact. Catherine and he had never discussed the idea of having kids; it had always been an unspoken rule when Cath had been in the Navy. It would have been a real career ender for her, and Steve knew she'd been on birth control during that time. Steve had always left Catherine to handle the birth control issue.

"Yeah, now go get baby SEAL checked out." He said pushing Steve back towards the ambulance. "We'll get started on the scene and swing by the hospital later for Cath's statement."

...

Danny watched as the ambulance left the warehouse, heading towards the Hawaii medical Centre. He shook his head, god what a mess this was going to turn out. Danny knew how Steve felt about Catherine, and add in the fact that she was also carrying his baby. Danny only hoped that maybe Catherine would finally settle in Hawaii, and stop hurting Steve.

"Hey, where'd the boss go?" Kono asked as she walked up to Danny, Chin and Lou by her side.

"Hospital, with the victim." He said, taking a deep breath. "It was Catherine." He told them.

"What the hell," Kono explained.

"Steve okay, bra?" Chin asked, worried for his friend.

"Yeah. Look, Rambo will probably kill me for saying this, but." Danny stopped, gathering his thoughts, before adding. "Seems there's a baby SEAL on the way." He told the stunned people in front of him.

"Seriously, Cath's pregnant." Kono exclaimed, totally shocked by the news.

Danny nodded his head, grinning at the team. "Steve seemed very pleased with himself, by all accounts."

Lou was the only one to voice his concerns though. "Can we be sure it's McGarrett's?" He asked.

"Catherine said it was," Danny told them. "Look, Steve's been getting calls for the past couple of months. There from an unknown number, and Steve believes they were coming from Catherine. With what I overheard she's been trying to get up the courage to tell him." Danny said filling them in.

"Still doesn't mean she's telling the truth, Williams." Lou said, not backing down.

"I think till we know any different, we don't make assumptions." Chin said, trying to defuse the situation. "From what Danny has said, Steve's happy to take Catherine at her word."

"You know Catherine and Steve were apart an awful lot when they were both in the Navy, neither of them stepped out on each other." Kono said. "We have to leave this between them."

"What about the girl he's been seeing?" Lou pointed out.

"Steve broke it off with her, and from what I did get from him, it was just a casual fling on his part." Danny explained to him. "I told Steve we'd swing by the hospital once we're finished with the crime scene, get Cath's statement." Danny said, bringing a close to the discussion.

"I have a feeling that we'll get pulled of this case," Chin said, and began filling the others in on the evidence he'd already gathered. "This has Navy stamped all over it, there were several empty packing crates in the warehouse, all with Naval shipping addresses on them. I spoke to the first officer on the scene, the 2 dead victims are both Navy, and Catherine was with them. I'd say she was pulled in for a mission."

"The Navy isn't going to tell us anything if that's the case. They'll definitely send an NCIS team to do the investigation." Danny said, clearly not happy about the situation.

...

FRIDAY 18.00 HRS

Catherine was rushed into the emergency room, Steve still holding her hand as she was wheeled down the corridor. The waiting medical team descended on her immediately, removing her clothes to access her injuries as a nurse attempted to remove Steve from the room.

"Commander, we need to treat the patient, you can interview her when we've finished." She told him.

He was just about to tell her in no uncertain terms, what he thought of that idea, when Catherine shouted for him." Steve, don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere Cath." He said gripping her hand, and giving it a small squeeze. "I'll be right here," he told her, glancing at the nurse to drill home his point. Steve gulped as he took in the bruises and abrasions that marred her pale skin. He began mentally mapping the injuries, taking note of the possible cracked or broken ribs, and burn marks that covered her chest. He noticed the trauma team setting up some equipment, before the doctor squeezed a tube of gel onto Catherine's body. Steve frowned, not sure what to make of it.

"Lieutenant; I'm Doctor Susan Nailor. I'm going to use the ultra sound machine to see what's going on with your ribs, and to see if you have any internal bleeding. I need you to keep breathing in that gas and air for me, the pethidine should start to kick in shortly." She explained in a pleasant calming voice. "Are you still okay with the Commander being present?"

Cath nodded her head, her eyes locking on Steve's as he smiled at her. He was her rock, her anchor, always had been.

The doctor was curious about the woman she was treating. She'd been in the ER a number of times when a member of the 5-0 task force had been brought in for treatment. They were a very tight knit group, almost like ohana, especially when one of their own was injured. She'd seen Commander McGarrett a number of times with his team, and had noticed the looks most of the female staff had sent his way. Susan had often wondered if the man was gay, as he'd never so much as noticed the women around him. But watching the interaction between these two made her question that idea.

Susan began her examination, carefully moving the device over Cath's body explaining everything she was doing, "The good news is there doesn't appear to be any internal bleeding, but those ribs are fractured, so you'll be very sore for a while." She told her.

Catherine nodded, having already come to the conclusion that she'd either cracked or broken the ribs. "My baby?" She asked in a near whisper.

"I've had a quick look, and everything looks normal. We'll get you cleaned up and settled in a room, and then one of our obstetricians will come and take a better look at baby." She told her soothingly, gently placing her hand on Catherine's shoulder. "How far along is your pregnancy?"

"She's about 3 months," Steve told the doctor as he approached Catherine, grasping her hand as she held it out to him.

Susan turned to look at the Commander, startled that he did in fact know how far along the Lieutenant's pregnancy was. It definitely seemed that she was right to assume there might be some kind of relationship.

"What about the name of your Doctor? We can get in touch with the base to get your medical file sent over." Doctor Nailor told her.

Catherine just shook her heard. "Not seen one. I've been on assignment." She said quietly, tears beginning to leak from the corners of her eyes. "I didn't know till after I'd gone in." She said quietly, looking at the Commander.

Susan gave the woman's shoulder a small squeeze to reassure her. "Not to worry, our obstetrician will be down to check on you as soon as we get you settled in your own room. Commander, could I have a word with you?" She said indicating the door with her head.

"Sure." He said, before turning back towards Catherine. "I'll be right back." He told her.

They excited the room, the Doctor turning towards him. "Commander, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm assuming you're the father?" At his nod she continued. "The Lieutenant's injuries are only minor and superficial. The ribs although painful will not cause her too much trouble."

"I hear a but." Steve said, glancing back towards the closed doors of the Trauma room.

"Yes. I'm concerned, as I'm sure you're aware given the extensive injuries and burn marks on her body, she has been tortured. Given the discoloration of the various bruises, I'd say that this was done over several days. The stress levels that her body has been put threw; I believe is causing slightly high blood pressure. If we can't help her to get this under control it could cause a miscarriage."

Steve swallowed, staring at the doors. "How do we help her?" He asked, suddenly scared.

"We need to get her calmed down. I'm sensing that there's some tension between the two of you, normally I'd remove you from the room." She told him.

"No way, I'm staying." He insisted. "If Cath wants me out then fine, but you're not kicking me out of there."

"As I was saying Commander, normally I'd remove you, however I believe that would only make the situation worse. The Lieutenant was quite adamant about wanting you to stay, but we need to remove the tension that your presence is causing her as well." The Doctor told him, outlining where she stood.

"Cath left a few months back; supposedly she was going to Nepal to help with the earthquake relief. As you've probably guessed, that didn't happen, which means she lied to me." Steve said crossing his arms and pacing the floor in front of the Doctor.

"You've only just found out about the baby?" She asked, watching as he nodded. "So the tension I'm picking up on is to do with all this!" She concluded.

"Yeah." He said.

"Ok. I need you to put her mind at rest, and I need her totally calm." She outlined.

"You got it, Doc." He said glancing back towards the room Cath was in. "I've a feeling that the Navy is going to send an NCIS team in to deal with the investigation, can you stall them. I'd prefer that either myself or one of my team interview Cath, allow us to keep her calm." He said.

"Yes we can do that, I can put a note on her records stating that she's not to have any visitors without my consent, or that of her attending obstetrician." She agreed.

"Ok, I'm going to head back in to Cath." He said, pushing back into the room, Doctor Nailor following behind him.

...

Cath sighed in relief, as she spotted Steve heading back into the room. He smiled at her, as he crossed the room, taking hold of her hand to give it a squeeze. "Steve," She whispered, looking into his face, trying to read him.

He shook his head, "We'll talk later, Cath. Right now you just need to worry about getting better, so we can get you home. I'm not going anywhere." He told her. "The Doctors getting you a room sorted, no visitors except me, no-one will be allowed in to see you." He explained, watching as she breathed in deeply.

"Steve, NCIS will be involved." She exclaimed.

"I know, but they won't be able to see you till your Doctor's say they can. The Doctor is concerned about your blood pressure, Cath. They want you to stay calm, and that means me keeping NCIS out of your room." He told her firmly. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you Cath, either of you."

...

SATURDAY 0700 HRS

Pearl-Hickman airfield.

The 4 agents departed from the plane, heading down the ramp and heading towards the 2 black SUV's that were parked there. The local NCIS agent was stood waiting for them.

"Welcome to Hawaii, I'm David Smith with the local office." He said holding out his hand towards the lead agent.

"Sam Hanna, my partner Callen, Kensi Blyth and our LAPD Liaison Marty Deek's." Sam said introducing the team to the other agent. "Where are we up to with the investigation?"

"The 5-0 task force has taken over the investigation, at least for now. There were no weapons found in the warehouse but, several empty shipping crates that housed them were still present. Two sailors were found dead at the scene and a third has been taken to Hawaii Medical Centre for treatment. That's where we have hit a small problem." He told the assembled team.

"What sort of a problem?" Sam asked.

"Five-0 has got a complete lock down on the third victim. The Hospital is only allowing Commander McGarrett in to visit." Agent Smith told them.

"What do we know about the third vic?" Callen asked.

"Lieutenant Rollins Naval Intelligence, pulled for this mission 3 months back." He filled in.

"Do we know what his condition is?" Kensi asked.

"He is actually a she," Sam told the assembled group, then added as his team and Smith looked at him in surprise. "Lieutenant Catherine Rollins is a very old friend of McGarrett's, hence the reason for him sitting on her."

"You know her?" Callen asked.

"Yes, I've met Catherine a few times while I was in the SEAL's. She's been included in plenty of team nights out with the guys, team 6 more or less treat her like a sister they even gave her a nickname" Sam explained to the agents. "How bad is she, have you managed to get a sit rep?" He asked the local agent.

"Her Doctor isn't giving any information out, but we were able to speak to a nurse who treated her in the Trauma room. From what she says, her injuries are only superficial. The Lieutenant was treated for a couple of cracked ribs, electrical burns and cuts and bruises. Nothing broken and no internal bleeding." He told the LA team.

"So why the lockdown, McGarrett's Navy, he has no know that NCIS would send a team to investigate." Deek's asked, clearly puzzled.

"I don't know the nurse was called away before I could get anything else from her. When I tried again later, she refused to talk to me, said she'd gotten in trouble earlier." Smith said, clearly annoyed about the incident. "I'm figuring someone must have warned her to keep quiet."

"Question is who and why?" Callen added.

"Think we should start with 5-0 HQ; see what evidence they collected at the scene. One thing we can be assured of is that they'll have done a thorough search of the scene and then we need to get access to Rollins." Callen said, making his way towards one of the SUV's. "Kensi, you and Deek's head over to the hospital, see if you can get into her room. Maybe as a nurse you'll have more look." Callen suggested.

Kensi shook her head, "That's going to be a problem, if McGarrett's keeping tabs on Rollins he could be in the room with her."

"And?" Callen asked.

"She's met Steve." Sam told them.

"How do you know him, Kens?" Deek's asked, confused and a little curious.

"I helped him on case a few years back, we have a mutual friend who cashed in a favour to help translate some data that McGarrett had come across." Kensi told them, vaguely.

"That's not telling us much, who's the mutual friend." Callen asked, knowing that she would have said if it was Sam.

Kensi shook her head not telling them.

...

SATURDAY 0800 HRS

The Five-0 team was busy working through the footage from the security cameras when they heard someone entering their offices. Looking up they noticed the 4 NCIS agents from the L.A office entering the room. Lou looked ready to intercept them before they entered too far, but Danny and Chin waved him off.

"We were wondering when NCIS would show up." Danny said walking around the smart table to greet the agents. "We weren't expecting you guys though."

"NCIS is happy to let you run the case on the warehouse, we want these people found." Callen told him. "But we have a bigger problem; the team was tracking a shipment of weapons."

"So Cath had been recalled?" Danny asked, remembering the conversation that Steve had told him about over hearing.

"I don't have all the facts." Callen told him.

"See, that there's a problem for us. You're telling us you want our co-operation but you won't give us all the facts. Cath's ohana, and we want to catch the bastards that did this to her." He told Callen, watching for any reaction from the other man.

"We want them found as well, but we have the bigger picture to look at." Callen told him.

"We need to speak to Lieutenant Rollins." Sam said firmly, before Danny could answer Callen.

"The hospital is restricting visitors, at the minute only Steve is allowed in her room." Danny told them both. "That's not us being award with you; her Doctor is concerned about her condition." He concluded, trying not to give too much away. Danny wasn't sure how much Steve would be willing to share with the NCIS agents about Cath's condition.

"Cracked ribs, electrical burns, and cuts and bruises I believe were what they treated her for." Callen stated, watching as the 5-0 team looked at him with anger and hurt in their eyes. "In my estimation those injuries are superficial."

Danny, Chin, Kono and Lou, all glanced between one another, silently communicating between themselves. Chin nodded at Danny, who nodded back at him. "Catherine's pregnant," He told them.

"What you're saying she was also raped?" Kensi asked concerned for the other woman.

"No, Cath wasn't raped. At least not that we know of, anyway." Danny told her, taking a deep breath and adding. "Her Doctor is concerned that anymore Stress will cause her to miscarry."

"And the reason why McGarrett has the hospital keeping us out?" Callen asked, clearly not guessing what the man wasn't saying.

"Because Smooth Dog is concerned about his woman miscarrying his kid?" Sam added, finally realizing the situation for what it was. Steve might be a Navy man, but family came first in this situation. Sam could understand that, being a family man himself.

"Correct. It seems that Catherine wasn't aware of being pregnant before she left." Chin told him.

"Wait, a minute. You told us they were friends?" Deek's questioned Sam.

The Five-0 team and Sam started laughing at that, the rest of the NCIS team and Lou looking at them all strangely. "Hey, you funny guys want to let us in on the joke?" Lou asked clearly annoyed with his three colleagues.

"You know for years anytime anyone referred to Catherine as being his girlfriend, he'd instantly deny it. They just had "a thing." Steve always referred to Cath as his oldest friend." Danny told them.

"Yeah, the team used to rib him over it all the time. Any guy that will spend half of his 48-hour shore leave flying halfway around the world to see the same woman is more than just friends." Sam told them.

"Cath, pretty much tells the same story. Neither her or the boss have ever felt the need to classify their relationship." Kono added. "They're pretty cool about the whole thing."

"We still need to talk to her." Callen said, looking at Danny and Chin. "We need to find out how close they were to getting these guys."

"No. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Steve." Danny said, crossing his arms against his chest defiantly.

"You're forgetting she's Navy. We can always do this the hard way." Callen said trying to push the Detective into cooperating with them.

"You really want to go up against Steve on this issue?" Danny asked, beginning to pace the room.

"Look, I have a solution." Sam said, trying to diffuse the situation between his partner and the Detective. "Get hold of Steve and ask if he'll allow me to speak to Catherine, she knows me."

"I'll phone, but it's up to Steve about anything else." Danny told them.

...

SATURDAY 0800 HRS

Steve watched as Cath slept, his eyes raking over her body remembering each and every bruise, cut, and burn mark that covered her beautiful body. His eyes drifted towards her stomach, and he smiled at the thought of her carrying his baby. He knew they needed to talk, the idea scaring him more than anything he'd ever had to do before. He was mad at her for leaving, and for lying to him, but he couldn't help but hope there might be a future with her. He'd ended things with Lyn, because it hadn't felt right.

The ringing of his cell brought his mind to other matters, pulling it out of his pocket he saw who the caller was. "Hey Danny." He said; glad to hear his partner's voice.

"Steve, you're on speaker. NCIS are here from LA, there wanting to speak to Cath about what went down." Danny's voice said threw the cell's speaker.

"Not happening, her Doctor has given her a mild sedative to get her to sleep. Her blood pressure is still higher than they like and her temperature spiked last night, indicating an infection from some of the more serious wounds. They have her on a broad spectrum antibiotic, and want to do some more tests later today, along with another scan." Steve told his partner.

"Steve we need to speak to her, we need to know how close she was to ending this mission."

Sam said, trying to appeal to Steve.

"Sam, she's not up to being interviewed, my priority is Cath's health." He told his former team mate.

"Look Steve, we might not have a lot of time on this thing. We have been tracking weapons shipments sent back from Afghanistan for the last several months. Weapons and munitions have been going missing, and surfacing on the black market. We need to put an end to this, we need to get the weapons back and we need to stop these people. Cath is the only one who can give us the information." Sam told him, quickly outlining everything. "Cath knows me, let just me come in and speak to her, you can be there the whole time."

"Tell you what I'll do for you, Sam." Steve said, pausing a minute before he outlined his plan. "You get me read in and I'll debrief Cath when she wakes up, but neither you nor any of your team will be present during that time."

"I'll have to run that by SecNav and the Director, I can't just agree to any of that." Sam told him.

"I know." He told him, before he addressed Danny personally. "Hey, Danny I need you to swing by my place and grab me some stuff. Change of clothes, wash bag, the usual stuff, and there's a box of Cath's stuff in the bottom of my closet, grab her some stuff as well."

"Ok, I'll drop them off in a bit." He told Steve.

"Mahalo, Brah." Steve told him, disconnecting the call, and glancing back towards Cath. She was mumbling softly in her sleep, his name on her lips. He smiled at her, leaning over he placed a kiss on her forehead, just as she started to stir.

"Mm, Steve..."She whispered nuzzling at his neck. "Love you." she told him as she lifted her hand up to slip around his shoulder.

"Morning, Cath." He said pulling back slightly to look in her eyes.

She smiled at him, running her hand from his shoulder and rubbing her fingers across the stubble on his jaw. "You've been here all night?" She asked.

"Yeah." He swallowed, then taking a deep breath asked the question he needed to here. "Are you staying?"

"I'm not leaving again, I'm home to stay. I promise no more trips to any foreign countries, no more leaving you." She whispered, tears running down her cheeks.

Using his fingers, he gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "Good." He said. "How long have you known about the baby."

"A couple of months." She said grinning at him. "I'm sorry you found out like that though, I wanted to tell you properly. I know we never discussed having kids, but now I can't imagine anything more ideal." She told him.

"Yeah, it's a pretty amazing feeling. I keep looking at you, and thinking you're the mother of my child, Cath." He shared, a grin spreading across his face.

Cath laughed at his expression, "You're pretty pleased with yourself there, Sailor."

"Maybe," He said with a grin back at her. "I did manage to get you pregnant while you were on birth control."

"You're such a caveman; I can't believe you came out with that." She said laughing up at him. "I was due for another shot the week I left. I'm kind of glad now I didn't get it." She told him honestly, smiling back at him.

"So am I." He told her honestly, as he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips just as his cell started ringing. He groaned resting his forehead against hers, before dropping another quick kiss on her lips, and pulling his cell from his pocket. "McGarrett." He said as he answered the call.

...

SATURDAY 0830 HRS

 _"We have permission to read you in, but SecNav is insisting that an agent is present during debrief." Sam told him getting to the point._

"Just a minute," Sam heard Steve say, before he heard a muffled conversation. "I'll just be outside."

"Okay." Sam heard a muffled voice reply, assuming it was Catherine's. He heard the faint noise of a door opening then McGarrett came back online.

"Not happening, Sam. I suggest you get back onto SecNav, and explain that her Doctor is not allowing any visitors except for me. Now you can wait until her Doctor is happy her condition is stable enough to do a debrief, or you can read me in and I'll do it, up to you." Steve told him firmly.

 _"Steve, my team is aware she's pregnant." He told his friend. "I have kids myself; I understand where your concerns are. Let me be in the room when you de-brief her. Catherine knows me that has got to count for something with you." Sam said, slightly exasperated with the other man's stubbornness._

"Danny told you." Steve said, sighing. "Ok, I want to check with her Doctor first though."

" _Ok, I can work with that. You want to do the briefing in your office?" Sam asked._

Steve chuckled, "So your partner can sneak into Cath's room?" He asked.

 _"No way, you have my word. We'll do this your way; my team will be at 5-0 the whole time." Sam reassured._

...

SATURDAY 1030 HRS

2 hours later saw Steve McGarrett leaving the hospital and heading for the palace. He'd called Kamekona to come and watch Catherine's room for him to prevent NCIS getting in to see Cath while he wasn't there. Danny had fetched him a change of clothes and his wash bag. He'd quickly washed up and changed in the hospital rest rooms down the corridor while Danny had slipped into Cath's room to hand her sleep clothes and toilettes that he'd collected.

Danny had quickly filled him in with the information they'd collected on the case, before the conversation had turned to personal matters between him and Catherine. "Have you talked to Cath?" He asked.

"Yes, I've talked to Cath." Steve told him.

"And?"

"And we talked." Steve said with a shrug.

"You know getting you to talk my friend is like extracting teeth." Danny ranted, "What did you decide?"

"If you're asking if Catherine is sticking around, then yes she is. I don't know if we'll be together or if we'll end up raising our baby separately." Steve told him, purposely not looking at Danny, who was driving his own car for a change.

"Do you want to do it together?" Danny asked, not letting the subject drop.

"Yes I still want Catherine in my life; yes, I want us to be a family." He told his friend. "I cheated, how do I tell her that?" He said in an almost whisper.

"You did not cheat. The 2 of you had split up, you told her you wouldn't wait, so do not lay guilt on yourself over that. You stayed faithful to her for what 12 years, during which time you could have slept with any woman you wanted." Danny shouted at him. "You my friend are a veritable saint."

Steve leaned his head back against the head rest and turned to look at Danny. "I'm scared of messing this up, Brah." He told the other man.

"I'm sorry did I just hear Super-SEAL say he was scared," Danny said with a grin on his face. He quickly looked at Steve who had a small smile on his face at the jab to his ego. "Look you 2 both need to focus on the most important thing that little seal pup of yours." Danny said with a smirk.

Steve snorted at Danny's nick name for their baby. "You tell anyone I said any of that and I'll deny it." He told the blond detective.

...

Steve strode into Five-0 glancing at the screen to see how far into the investigation they were. He frowned as he caught sight of the man displayed there. Chin was running a facial recognition on him. He looked familiar somehow, but Steve was having trouble trying to think where he'd seen the man.

"This one of the guys responsible?" Steve asked as he approached the smart table to get a better look at what Kono was working on.

"Hey boss," She said in greeting, before filling him in. "We think so; we have some footage from the dock camera's. This guy appeared pretty frequently. We're trying to get a name, but so far no hits. Eric's working on some damaged CCTV equipment that we pulled from the warehouse; he'll call when he gets something." She told him.

"I can't help but think I've seen him somewhere." Steve told them, staring at the screen deep in concentration. Hearing a noise behind him, Steve turned to see Sam Hanna and his team behind him.

"Nell came up with a name for this guy. You're not going to like this one, Steve." Sam told him, handing a flash drive to Kono who plugged it into the smart table. "Meet Michael Hesse, youngest brother of Victor and Anton Hesse, no real criminal activity recorded till about 4 years ago when he started to make a name for himself selling arms to small time gangs and thugs in Europe. He has a legitimate business trading artwork threw a number of gallery's in the continental U.S."

"Shit." Steve said, hoping to have seen the last of the Hesse's. "You ready to read me in?"

"Yeah, SecNav has also agreed to partially allow us to give the rest of your team a brief outline of the information. Going to need N.D.A's for them though, can't play ball without." Sam told him.

Steve nodded, not having a problem with his team being in the loop on this. "You have the paperwork?" He asked; as Sam nodded his head to let him no he did in fact have the paperwork.

"Ok, what the hell is SecNav and N.D.A?" Danny asked, clearly puzzled by the acronyms being passed around.

"SecNav is short for Secretory of the Navy, and N.D.A's is non-disclosure agreement." Steve explained to his team, familiar with Danny's disfavour with Military jargon. "If you agree to sign them, you're legally bound to not repeat anything that you've been shown or heard. Quickest route to a high security prison for treason if you do." Steve warned his team.

...

STURDAY 1200 HRS

Sam and Callen had just finished briefing the members of 5-0. There was silence in the room as they all digested the information. They were all watching McGarrett, his head bowed as he braced his arms on the smart table, breathing deeply.

"What I don't understand is why Catherine was recalled to active duty." Danny said, glancing across at his partner.

"I'd say that someone at the top figured out who I was in Afghanistan with last year. If they checked flight manifests, then they'd have picked up on Cath's name. She also has extensive knowledge of the terrain, is very familiar with the local dialect, and has several contacts in country." He told the assembled group. "I overheard her having a conversation in Pashtu, the morning she left, supposedly for humanitarian relief in Nepal."

"Why the subterfuge? I mean surely she'd know you'd understand that it was a classified mission and not to ask for details." Kensi said, clearly confused.

"I don't know, but there was great thought put into a cover story." Steve told her.

"You never did tell us exactly what was said." Danny pointed out.

"I'm not about to tell you now, either. That's between Cath and me." Steve said, closing the subject. "Chin I want you to start checking where and when he got on the Island. Kono go see Kawika, see if the Kapu have heard any chatter about arms coming in." He said directing his team.

"You want me to speak to Kamekona?" Chin asked.

"No need. I'll speak to him; he's at the hospital watching Cath's room for me." Steve told him, looking across at the NCIS agents and adding, "No offence Sam, I didn't trust you not to try."

"None taken. I'd have done the same thing if it was Michelle." He told him in understanding.

"Danny, chase Max and Eric up on the forensics, if we get any hits, let me know. Lou check in with HPD I want eyes and ears on the street, any chatter feed it back to Chin." Steve directed.

"You mind if my team tag along with yours?" Sam asked, ready to pair up the 2 teams.

Steve glanced across at the 4 NCIS agents quickly sizing them all up. "Kono take Deek's with you, he won't look out of place at North shore. I'd suggest the rest of your team follow up on any leads you might have during that time." He said before walking towards his office and collecting his keys from the desk drawer.

"I'm going to head to the hospital, see what Rollins tells us." Sam told them as Steve strode out of his office heading towards the doors.

...

SATURDAY 12.30 HRS

Sam noticed the large wall of a man stood outside the hospital room as Steve and himself approached. The other man stepped towards them, giving Sam the once over before turning his full attention to Steve.

"Aint nobody been in there other than that pretty nurse and Doctor you spoke to earlier. Your woman's safe." He told Steve.

"Mahalo." Steve told the man before indicating to Sam. "Kamekona, Sam Hanna. Sam was a member of my SEAL team, and Kamekona is very good at getting information on illegal activities on the Island." Steve explained.

"Hey Brah, I ain't no snitch." He told McGarrett, slightly annoyed at the implication.

"Of course not. What do you know about weapon's being shipped, sold or stolen? We're looking for someone that's been stealing from the base." He told Kamekona, who looked ready to dispute any knowledge about anything.

"I don't know anything about any of that." He told McGarrett.

"Look these guys are responsible for killing 2 sailors and beating the crap out of Catherine. I want them." He growled.

"I'll put out some feelers, and see what I can find out for you. But I'm telling you Brah, I honestly know nothing about it." He told McGarrett. He hated the thought of anyone hurting Catherine; she was one of his friends after all.

"Mahalo." Steve said watching as Kamekona left the building.

"Can you trust him?" Sam asked, clearly confused over the interaction.

"Yeah. Kamekona has had a little bit of a colourful past which after helping Chin nail the big fish, and serving a year in Halawa for his small part, he went totally straight. Kame has his ear to the ground on most things that go on around Oahu, he'll let us know if something comes up. He also considers Catherine a friend." Steve told him as he placed his hand on the door to Catherine's room before entering.

...

Catherine was propped up in bed, the remote for the TV in her hand as she flicked threw the channel's trying to find something worth watching. She instantly flicked past Jag, NCIS and Sea patrol, as they hit too close to home, finally settling on watching a re-run of the tough mudder from this year. She looked towards the door; having heard what she thought was Steve's voice. Muting the TV, she listened more carefully, and smiled when she realized he was talking to Kamekona outside her room.

A few minutes later he was pushing open the door to her room, a smile on his face. She smiled back at him, greeting him her usual welcome line. "Well hello their Sailor."

He grinned at her, glad she was sounding a bit more like her old self. "You sound a little better."

"My Doctor thinks I could be out in a couple of days, the antibiotics have kicked in and my blood pressure has come down." She told him with a grin on her face.

"Hey that's great news." He told her, indicated behind him. "You have another visitor." He said stepping aside and allowing Sam to enter the room.

"Catherine, good to see you again." He told her as he entered the room, and moved to stand at the end of her bed.

"Hi Sam, your here to de-brief me, aren't you?" Cath reasoned, already familiar with Sam's past and current job.

"Actually I'm here as an observer, Steve's going to de-brief you." He explained.

Cath opened her mouth, and then closed it again looking towards Steve for an answer. "I don't understand." She finally managed to say.

"SecNav agreed for Five-0 to be read in on your mission, that way I can debrief you, and we can get the mission completely wrapped up, and most importantly it won't stress you out too much. We can stop at any time, Cath." Steve explained taking hold of her hand as he took the chair by the bed.

"Can you pass me my notebook, Danny brought it with some of my stuff?" Cath said indicating the cupboard by the side of her bed.

"Sure." Steve said as he opened the cupboard and removed it, placing it on the bed beside her so he could help her sit up a little better.

"Thanks," Cath said as he opened the notebook and placed it on her lap. "We were able to place trackers in the shipment." She explained.

"The crates had been emptied and left behind," Sam told her.

"We didn't just tag the crates; we also tagged a variety of the weapons and munitions. Jamerson placed trackers inside some of the munitions while Myself and Collins were able to partially dismantle some of the larger pieces and replace the firing mechanism's with new one's that we'd embedded trackers into." Cath explained as she logged onto a secure server through her notebook. Opening a file and bringing up the tracking system. "This isn't working; the file requires more power than I can get with this." She told them with a sigh.

"Can you send the file attachment to our tec team, and then we can track them." Sam asked.

"I can't, I need to be on the main server to do that. I can do this at the Palace, Steve." She told Steve, making eye contact with him. "I need to do this; I need to finish it."

"I'll speak to your Doctor," He told her, knowing how stubborn and driven she could be.

...

SATURDAY 14.30 HRS

Steve pushed open the doors to the office and gently ushered Catherine inside. Sam followed behind them, indicating to his team to keep back. Kono was the first to spot Catherine, immediately smiling and coming around the smart table to greet the other woman in a gentle hug.

"Hey, Sistah. You okay?" She asked in greeting.

"Yeah, I will be. How's things with you and Adam?" Cath asked as she pulled back a little from her friends embrace to look in her face.

"Not great. Adam killed of the Yakuza's men, and is currently in Halawa." Kono said with a small sigh.

"I'm so sorry Kono." Cath said pulling her into a hug.

"Congratulations on the little guy." Kono told her, as she pulled back moving aside to allow Chin to draw Catherine into a hug himself.

"It's good to have you back Catherine." He told her honestly. "Also congratulations on the baby."

"Thanks. It feels pretty good to be back, especially in one piece." She told the Hawaiian man, smiling back at him.

"You know, if we're hugging, you missed me right." Danny said holding his arms open so Catherine could step into his embrace. "Definitely congratulations on the little seal pup." He told her, earning him a small chuckle at his antics.

"You all done hugging, think we can get some work done?" Steve drawled, amused at his team, but very thankful for their acceptance of Cath and baby.

"You jealous?" Danny asked with a smirk on his face.

Catherine laughed at their antics, shaking her head and moving towards the smart table in the Centre of the room. She quickly typed into the server and remotely accessed her computer at Pearl-Hickman. The two teams watched in silence as Catherine quickly opened the tracking file and logged into the Icon recon satellite that she'd need to track the weapons shipment.

"You're accessing a recon satellite?" Callen asked, speaking up for the first time.

"Yes," Cath answered not looking up from her work as she pinpointed multiple locations around the Island. "We were able to tag a number of weapons and munitions before they left Afghanistan." She explained.

"That wasn't in any of the reports you or your team filed." Callen stated.

"We knew there was a leak somewhere on the base. If shipments of arms were going missing, it was an inside job; there was no way of getting around that. Jamerson, Collins and I had worked together before, we trusted each other. We made the decision to keep the trackers to ourselves." She told the pushy agent.

"How many locations are we looking at?" Steve asked moving to stand beside her at the table.

"Total of 4 locations. Give me a minute and I'll narrow down the items they have in the locations." She told him, as she continued to work, opening up another file.

"You can tell what's at each location?" Kensi asked in surprise.

"We altered the frequencies slightly so we could differentiate between munitions, arms and R.P.G's." She told her, as she brought a new file up on the screen and merged the 2 images.

"I have no idea what you're doing, but I'm impressed." Deek's said, watching over the Lieutenant's shoulder.

Cath ignored him and continued working on the smart table, until she was happy with the results. She pushed the 2 combined images onto the screen in front of them, the multi-coloured dots blinking the locations. "Munition's and arms are spread over the 4 locations, the R.P.G's are all in the same location. I'm bringing up the live feed on the locations now." Announced Catherine as she pushed the satellite feed on to the main screen, for them all to see.

"Lou get a hold of HPD and get them out to each of the location's Cath has indicated, tell them to hold back until someone from 5-0 gets there. I want SWAT as well." He ordered Grover, who nodded his head and moved off to contact HPD. "Kono, and Sam take the warehouse at Pearl City, Chin and Callen take the warehouse at Kapolei, Deek's you go with Lou to the house at Waikiki, Kensi and Danny you're with me at Sand Island." He directed.

Steve turned to look at Cath who was leaning against the table, obviously in some discomfort. As he went to speak she gave him a small smile. "Pain meds are just starting to wear off; I have every intention of popping my meds and pinching your chair while I stick my feet up on your desk." She said with a smirk. "Now I have the program up and running, I can access everything from your laptop, and I'll be able to guide you all from there." Cath explained.

"Right let's get moving, feed everything back to Cath." He ordered as they all made to leave the office. He quickly turned to look over his shoulder, and catching her eye he ordered. "Keep the feet of the desk, Rollins."

"Sir, yes Sir." She laughed as he left the room. She grinned at his retreating back, fished her meds out of her pocket and headed into Steve's office to boot up his laptop. Opening the small fridge in the corner of his office, she pulled out a bottle of water and swallowed the pills down. Then she sat down in Steve's chair, and got comfortable by kicking of her shoes and propping her feet on his desk.

Catherine contacted each of the teams, and kept up a steady stream of information and updates with all of them. She wasn't too thrilled about being left to watch from HQ, but new she wouldn't be much good on this take down. She was in a lot of pain with the ribs, and after everything she'd endured the past week, she was scared about anything happening with her baby. The baby was the only thing that had kept her going for the last few months; it was her reason for getting up every morning and carrying on with the mission.

...

SATURDAY 1600 HRS

Steve and Sam had both agreed that all 4 locations should be targeted simultaneously, and with the help of Catherine they were able to get everyone in all the locations. HPD had transported them all to the lock up, except for 2 men, who when identified as Naval personnel they had been escorted to 5-0's blue room for interrogation.

Catherine had been able to search the Navy's data base for the sailor's personnel files and their duty roster for the past 12 months. They were all aware these 2 were only small fish in big scheme of things, but they needed to find the leak, and those 2 were there only hope at that. Catherine was still sat in Steve's office, when the two teams returned, her feet still firmly planted on his desk as he walked in.

"Hey, I thought I said no feet on my desk." He said with a grin, coming around the piece of furniture and propping his hip on the edge. He slid his hand to her leg, rubbing along her calf muscles as she sighed. "You find anything?"

"Not yet, the only similarities I can find is there C.O. Commander Barrow. They were never rostered together and both worked in completely different branches. Neither have any family, nor do they seem to have had any problems financially before all this began, so we can rule blackmail out as a motive." She told him on a moan as he picked one of her feet up and added pressure.

"What about their C.O. Have they been brought up on any charges by him?" Steve asked, wondering what could have pushed the men to betray the service.

"No charges have ever been brought against them. But Barrow's a total ass," Spat Catherine.

"Ok, why do I have a feeling there's something you're not telling?" He said, raising an eye brow to look at her.

"He was my C.O. for this op. When I found out about the baby, he not so subtly accused me of doing it deliberately to get out of the op, and then suggested I get an abortion. When I told him that I wouldn't be killing our baby, he told me he wasn't scrubbing the mission. He ordered me to complete the mission as planned." Cath told Steve quietly, looking at his face. His eyes were closed, the pulse point in his neck and the hard set of his jaw indicating how mad he was.

Opening his stormy eyes, to look at Cath. "God, Cat." He managed to croak out.

"Not even for a second, Steve. I'd never do that to our baby." She said, reaching to grab his hand as a knock sounded on his open door.

Steve turned towards the person, noting Sam and his partner Callen just behind him. "We get anything from them?" He asked.

"Yeah, there not the brightest of criminals. There C.O recruited them about 2 years back, just petty little things at first, smuggling contraband booze and porn. Then they claim about 12 months ago he stepped up the operation, and started skimming of the top of the weapons shipments going stateside. Just hand guns to start then then bigger stuff when they got regular clients." Sam explained, seriously pissed off with the whole fiasco.

"The C.O.? Barrow?" Steve asked, his temper flaring at the implication.

"Yeah. You know him?" Callen asked, picking up on the tension between McGarrett and Rollins.

"He was my C.O for this mission." Cath explained, as she looked at Sam and his partner. "We've just been talking about him." Cath watched as Steve stood, then started to pace his office, before turning on his heel and leaving. "Tell Danny to go with him." She told Sam as they watched him leave.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam asked, clearly confused.

"Sam, please just tell Danny to go with Steve." Cath insisted.

Sam left the room in search of the Detective, gave him a quick rundown of the situation and watched as the man nodded and immediately sprinted from the office to catch up to his partner. Sam scrubbed a hand over his face, wondering what was going on with his former teammate. He saw Catherine out of the corner of his eye as she slowly made her way from Steve's office, Callen trailing behind.

"What's going on, do we have a lead?" Kensi asked, ready to go.

"Maybe Catherine can explain," Sam replied, turning to look at the woman.

"Barrow was my C.O as well as the 2 sailors you brought in." Taking a deep breath, she moved on. "When you confront Barrow, Keep an eye on Steve." She told them.

"Why? What's going on, and what the hell did we just witness in his office?" An angry Sam asked her.

"When I found out I was pregnant, Barrow accused me of deliberately 'getting knocked up to avoid the mission' his words." She said using her finger's in a gesture of air quotes. "He strongly suggested I got rid of the baby, when I told him that I had no intention of killing my baby, I was ordered to complete the mission as planned." She swallowed a lump round in her throat. "Steve and I had just finished discussing that when you informed us that they'd given up Barrow."

"You think he's gone after Barrow!" Callen stated, already moving to the doors.

"No, he's gone to think." Chin said calmly, having an idea of what was going through his friend's head. "Catherine was right to let Danny handle this."

"You sure about that?" Callen asked the Hawaiian Detective.

"Yes." Was the instant and positive reply that came from Chin's lips? "Out of all of us Danny is the one best situated to handle this. Steve will open up to him, more so than the rest of us. Danny is stubborn, and won't let up till he gets Steve to talk." Chin paused a moment wondering if he should say more to ease the minds of the NCIS agents. He realized he did need to explain further.

"When Steve returned to Oahu it was to bury his father and find the man responsible for his murder. The case was being run by a haole and a rookie, Steve had been offered the task force by the governor but refused, he didn't plan on staying. Steve was a Navy SEAL with every intention of returning to that, till he met Danny at the crime scene. Steve bullied Danny into being his partner through the governor, and eventually they were able to get a lead on a trafficker who had helped Hesse get onto the Island undetected."

"Steve has an image of being the tough guy; he instils respect, but fear into most people who don't know him as well as his friends. Danny was the only one at HPD that wasn't scared of Steve; he openly stood up to him, and even took a good swing at Steve. Steve respects Danny for that; he's the only one of us that won't back down with him." Chin told the agents in front of him.

Catherine spoke up again. "I'm willing to bet that when Steve left the hospital with Danny, he told him most of what we'd discussed." Catherine held her hand up to stop Agent Callen for interrupting her. "And no I'm not telling you any more than that. Steve will be back when he's cleared his head." She concluded ending the discussion.

...

Waimanalo Bay- SATURDAY 1630 HRS

Danny sighed as he spotted Steve's Silverado parked in the lot, pulling into the vacant spot at the side of the truck. Exiting ad locking his car he quickly scanned the beach looking for his friend. It didn't take long to spot Steve, stood facing the ocean, hands stuffed in the pockets of his cargo pants, as he stared out to sea. Danny pulled himself upright and slowly made his way across the sand till he reached Steve's side.

Danny knew Steve was aware of his presence but he didn't acknowledge him, just continued to stare out to see as the waves crashed on the shoreline. Danny saw him pull in a few deep breaths, slowly letting each one out as he attempted to get his anger under control. When Danny felt like Steve was ready to talk, he turned to look at him properly. He took in the hard set of his jaw and the red rimmed eyes, and waited.

"Did you speak to Catherine before you left?" Steve asked resigned to telling Danny everything.

"No. Sam told me Catherine wanted me to go after you. What's going on Steve? Is this something to do with you and Catherine?" He asked, wondering if Catherine was going away again.

"Catherine's C.O. is the one behind all this. This bastard tried to force Cath to have an abortion, and right now I'd like nothing more than to beat the Bastard to a pulp." He told his friend in a dangerous voice.

"I can understand you wanting to do that, but you can't. What do you think that will do to Cath, she needs you there for her and the baby? We'll get this guy and he'll pay, but you cannot kill him." Danny reasoned.

"Don't you think I know that? You want to know what scares me the most." He shouted at Danny, not waiting for an answer. "Cath could have aborted our baby, and I'd never of known." He said on a sob, wiping his hand down his face.

"Hey, babe, don't do that to yourself. Cath would never do that; you know that right?" He said, hurting for his friend. "Catherine looks really happy that she's pregnant with that little seal pup of yours." He joked. Steve snorted at that, but didn't say anything else. "Why don't you start at the beginning, I'm sure you missed loads out."

Steve pulled in a deep breath and began to tell Danny everything Cath had told him about her C.O's conversation over the baby. Danny didn't interrupt, just allowed him to tell the whole story, as he silently offered him his full support.

"Oh, I so want to hold that Bastard down, while you beat the crap out of him." Seethed Danny, a while later. "What I don't understand is why he ordered her onto the mission. We know Cath is good at what she does, look at the way she tracked the shipment. She was in the Navy for years doing this, and I'm willing to bet this guy knew Cath had worked for 5-0 as well. Why insist on having her run that mission?" Danny said in confusion.

"Yeah, unless." Steve said turning to his partner.

"He was working with Hesse. Cath's involvement could be targeted at you." He said answering for Steve, clearly on the same page as he watched Steve pull out his cell phone and hit speed dial.

"Hey Chin, put me on speaker." He ordered. "Get a thorough background on Barrow; I want to know if he had any connections to Hesse. We've been trying to figure out why Cath was picked for this op, and why she was forced to continue with it. It doesn't make sense, SOP is that Cath should have been sent stateside when they discovered she was pregnant, that didn't happen. Why?" He pointed out, directing everyone's thoughts. "Also it was common knowledge in intel about me and Cath. Any C.O checking her jacket would have seen that I was listed as next of kin"

 _"Catherine has already started working on Barrow's background. She disappeared into your office half an hour ago; you want me to tell her to take her feet of the desk?" He said in a jovial tone._

Steve grinned at the image of Cath making herself at home in his office. "No, that's fine, although the rest of you better not get any ideas." He told them. "Sam, have your people check up on any of Hesse's business associates, I want to know how he was able to get in on this deal. Kono, pull his phone records, go back at least 12 months, this type of op would have taken time. Chin ask Cath if she can give you a rough time frame of her locations last year, and check them against Barrow's." He directed. "We're on our way back now, so we'll see you in 20." He said.

 _"Hey boss, how about feeding us. I for one am starving." Kono said._

"Fine, we'll swing by Kamekona's on the way back." He told them, as Danny chuckled beside him.

...

SATURDAY 17.30

Steve and Danny walked into HQ with bags of food from Kamekona's. Dropping them in the break room, where everybody gathered to eat. They passed around the cartons of food as Chin and Kono grabbed the cutlery and crockery from the small kitchen area they used.

After everybody had filled their plates and began tucking in, they began discussing the case, and any new information they'd come up with. They brainstormed their idea's back and forth with each other, giving some more angles to check, when Catherine stopped dead in her tracks, dropped her plate and quickly left the room returning a few minutes later with the sat phone from Steve's office drawer.

She quickly typed in a number from memory, and waited for the call to connect. She sighed when the call was answered then stunned everyone when she started to speak Pashtu. Steve sat up straighter, as did the 4 NCIS agents. She spoke for about 10 minutes, before she disconnected the call.

She took a deep breath before she spoke to the occupants of the room. Her gaze locked on Steve, as she explained. "Something Fazik said to me last year after the Taliban took Najib and the other children from the village. He said that there had been a white man who had been in the village shortly before who had spoken English. He'd apparently spoke to some of the women. He's going to phone back when he's spoken to his wife, see if she can remember what he spoke of with her."

Steve had an idea where she was going with this. "You didn't mention Fazik in your report, to protect the village though." Steve stated.

"What report? And what village are we talking about?" Callen asked.

"During one of my tours in Afghanistan, I was injured and separated from my unit. A local man Fazik, found me. Fazik and his wife helped me and hid me from a Taliban patrol at a great risk to themselves and their son. Last year Fazik called to say the Taliban had taken his son, along with several others from the village." She told him.

"They train them up as fighters, we've encountered it before." He told her, remembering the time the NCIS team had gone to rescue Kensi.

"Yeah. Steve and I we went in under the radar to get the kids back." She told him, before turning to look at Steve. "That prisoner transport mission of Anton Hesse, was over seen by Naval Intelligence. We had spent years tracking them both, and all the data and intel came across our desks even before you and Freddie was sent in. Victor might have been working for Wo Fat when he killed your dad, but he knew all about you. If he'd kept tabs on you..." She said, her voice trailing off as Steve finished her train of thought.

"He'd have seen us together, and known we were friends." Steve agreed.

"It's possible that he could have kept tabs on me during my tours in Afghanistan." She said, before pausing. "Also there were 3 other Intelligence officers who compiled the data with me. Jamerson, Cooper and ..." Cath paused looking at Steve, knowing which friend they were discussing.

"Billy!" Steve finished with a swallow.

"Who's Billy?" Callen asked, picking up on some of the tension.

"A former team mate." Sam told Callen.

"Billy transferred into Naval intelligence a couple of years before leaving the Navy for private work." Cath added, filling out some of Billy's background. "He was an ex." She finished for the NCIS agent's benefit.

"His death was completely separate from this though, Cath." Steve reminded her gently.

"Yeah, but that still left 3 of us. Jamerson, Cooper and me." Cath bit her lip, drew in a deep breath and continued. "They were waiting for us at the warehouse, they knew exactly where and when we'd be there. Took us out with Darts, and never asked a single dam question the whole time they had us."

"That would hold with Barrows being in league with Hesse. He had Jamerson and Cooper still in Naval intelligence; he just had to pull you in for the mission to work." Steve concluded.

Cath looked at him, needing to say more about being pulled for the mission, but uncertain how he'd react. "I was approached while I was still in Afghanistan, gave orders and told that the Navy would be in touch when the op was a go. They had a lot of intel; they knew we'd travelled together. I'm guessing they must have pulled Danny's call records, they knew I was the one who saw you getting taken." She swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Steve," She whispered.

"Cath, don't. I never blamed you for that. You did what you could, to get me help." He told her, putting a stop to her apology. "When did they get back in touch?"

"The day I left. I got a call from Barrows that afternoon telling me to get a cover in place and that I was wheels up at 2000 hrs." She told him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, beginning to pace the room.

"I had orders, Steve. Under no circumstances could you be told about the op. Barrows was pretty insistent on that." She said, still upset over the lie she'd had to tell him.

"You wouldn't let me drive you to the airport!" He said turning to look at her, as he realized she'd said wheels up. "Military transport." He exclaimed.

She nodded her head, pulling in a breath as she swiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah. If I'd have let you drive me, you'd have known I wasn't going to Nepal to help with the earthquake relief. I had no choice, and I'm so sorry I lied to you."

Steve finished his pacing; dropping down into the chair he'd been sat on moments ago. The room had gone quiet, no one daring to say anything. Steve just looked at Catherine, a look of understanding and forgiveness passing across his face.

Catherine knew Steve would understand her orders, and forgive her for lying about them. She knew they still had a lot to discuss; her staying in Afghanistan last year had still not been broached properly. Steve had given her an ultimation and she'd left him again, and she wondered if he'd moved on. His actions at the hospital and earlier in his office gave her some hope that he still loved her. The ringing of the Sat phone broke the quiet of the room.

They all watched as Catherine glanced at the caller I'd before answering the call in Pashtu. She spoke for a few minutes, before hanging up. "Farina says he was asking if there had been an American woman in the village. He claimed he was trying to find his friend who had been listed as Missing in action. Farina said she hadn't said anything to him, but Fazik believes it's possible one of the other women may have said something. I'd say from the brief description that Farina was able to give, it was most likely one of the Hesse brother's." Catherine relayed.

"We need to find the connection." Danny said in frustration.

"I can't find anything with phone record's, more than likely used a burner." Kono said.

"Same with his file, I haven't found anything out of the ordinary. His financials are pretty consistent, no large amounts in his bank, no large purchases or withdrawal's. He must have an of shore account that payments go through. Nothing that tie's him in with Hesse, Yet." Catherine was determined to nail this S.O.B.

Sam looked at Steve; both shook their heads, clearly frustrated. "I think we should call it a night, get some shut eye and start a fresh in the morning." Sam said, looking around the room at the assembled group.

Steve nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. You guys set up?" He asked his former team mate.

"We'll head over to one of the local hotels, get situated there." Sam told him as the rest of his team stood ready to head out.

"Plenty of room at mine." Steve offered.

Danny snorted, saying. "So long as one of you doesn't mind the little mermaid room."

The NCIS team looked between the blonde detective and the SEAL, attempting to gauge how serious Danny had been. Steve was scowling at him, although it didn't seem to faze the other man.

"You know Mary did the room, not me." He defended, as he looked at Sam. "It's my niece's room, she's 2."

...

McGarrett's residence Saturday 1930 hrs.

Steve pulled into his driveway, looking across at Catherine in the passenger seat of the truck. Her head was leaning against the window as she slept soundly beside him, placing his hand on her shoulder he softly called her name, but she didn't stir. Opening the door and climbing out of the truck, he made his way around the other side of the Silverado, and gently opened the door to get to Cath. He leaned around her, unclipping the seat belt and freeing her from its constraint.

Steve heard the black SUV as it turned the corner into his road, coming to a stop outside his property. He looked up, watching as the 4 agents climbed out of the vehicle and headed towards his truck. Steve was already lifting Cath out of the truck, as they neared him. Pushing the cab door shut with his hip, he engaged the lock with the fob in his hand, and made his way up the path towards his front door. He passed his door key to Sam and instructed him on where to find his alarm system and the code he'd need.

Sam opened the door and disabled the alarm, as Steve headed for the stairs still carrying a sleeping Catherine in his arms. He pushed the covers back as he gently placed her on the bed, and quickly began to undress her. He pulled one of his shirts from his dresser and carefully pulled it over her head, covering her body. He pulled the covers over her, dropped a quick kiss on her forehead and after placing his gun and badge in the drawer on his side of the bed, he left the room.

"She still asleep?" Sam asked as he spotted Steve heading back down the stairs.

"Yeah. She didn't sleep that well last night, even with the doctor sedating her." He told him, as he made his way towards the study and opened his desk drawer. He pulled the small box out, and slipped it into the pocket of his cargos before anyone saw it. "I'll give

you the whistle stop tour." He said, as he made his way into the living room and showed them where they could find what they needed.

...

Saturday 2300 hrs.

Steve quietly pushed the door to his room open, quickly slipping inside and closing it behind him. He glanced across at Cath, a sliver of moonlight from the window above his bed bathing her. He smiled as he watched the rise and fall of her chest as she slept soundly in the bed. He moved around to his own side of the bed, lowering himself to sit on the edge of the mattress. He unfastened and removed his boots, pushing them under the bed, before pulling the small box from his pocket and placing it in his bedside drawer.

Getting up he headed into the bathroom, quickly stripping and dropping his dirty clothing into the hamper, before stepping into the shower. He emerged exactly 3 minutes later, rubbing the water from his hair and body before wrapping the towel around his waist, and grabbing his toothbrush from the holder.

He emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, ready to grab a pair of shorts from the dresser only to find Cath sitting up in bed, with the bedside light on breathing heavily. He was by her side instantly, pulling her into his embrace, realizing she'd probably had a nightmare. He held her tight, his hands rubbing at her back in a soothing way, as she finally let go and cried.

Steve didn't say anything, just held her, and for that Catherine was grateful. She clung to him as tightly as she could, the tears freely pouring down her face as she cried. What seemed like hours later, but was probably only minutes, her tears began to subside as she relied where she was. She pulled back slightly to look at his face, noting the concern and love that shone from his eyes as he held her. She leaned towards him, kissing his lips, a soft sigh escaping her as he returned the kiss.

Slipping one hand into her hair to hold her close, he deepened the kiss, gently lowering her to the bed and bracing his other hand against the headboard to keep his weight of her bruised and tender body. He pulled away from her mouth and littered her face and neck with kisses before whispering in her ear. "I want you so badly, right now."

"I want you too," She said on a whisper as she tried to turn her face to capture his lips with her own. Her hands had slid down to his waist; her fingers finding the edge of the towel, and pulling.

He felt the towel around his hips loosen, as her hands skimmed around his waist and under the towel, her nails racking across his flesh. He growled into her neck, his control slipping. He pulled away from her slightly, his breathing heavy as he rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him.

Catherine could feel his hardness pressing against stomach as she looked down into his face. She felt his hands slipping under the shirt she was wearing, running across her bottom and up her waist and lower back. She moaned as he slid his hands around her sides, gently pulling her towards him as he leaned up to kiss her. Sliding one of her hands into his hair and bracing the other on the bed beside him, she allowed him to deepen the kiss. She sighed into his mouth when she felt him pulling the shirt up, the cool air from the open window hitting her quickly heating body.

He groaned, needing to feel her skin against his own. Sliding his hands up her body brought a cold splash of reality as he encountered the bandages around her ribs, at the same time as she hissed in pain. He pulled back from the kiss, resting his forehead against hers as he drew in a few deep breaths attempting to get control of his breathing and his body. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Steve," She murmured as her lips sort his in another kiss. "Please."

"Don't want to hurt you, Cath." He whispered as he peppered her face with kisses, noting the saltiness of the tears that leaked from her eyes.

"Please, make it stop." She whispered in his ear as he kissed her neck.

He knew then what her whispered plea was about; she wanted him to help take away her pain. Not the physical pain her body was in, the emotional pain of losing her friends in such a horrific way. He knew she was asking him to make her feel alive; it was something she'd done for him so many times in the past. She'd always known what he needed as soon as he'd turned up at her door. She would pull him into her embrace and let him take the lead on whatever it was he needed from her.

"Whatever you need," He told her in a hushed voice, as he brushed a kiss across her lips. He felt her shifting bracing her hands on his shoulders as she pushed to sit up, her legs pressed against his hips. He watched her in the moonlight as she pulled the shirt over her head tossing it over her shoulder.

Catherine stared at his face, studying him as his eyes racked across her naked body. She knew him well enough to know he was taking in her injuries, and planning the best way to minimize her discomfort. His body might want her, but he wouldn't hurt her. She felt his hands run across her hips, gently holding her as he sat up. His hands slid up her back, pulling her closer in his embrace as he kissed her lips tenderly.

She moaned as his lips moved across her own, then down her neck and across her shoulder leaving a fire of sensation in its wake. His hands were gently running across her back, holding her to him. She needed more from him, more than the tender kisses and gentle touches. "Steve, need you."

He grinned against the skin as he heard her needy words, loved how her body responded to just his kisses. He brushed kisses across the upper swell of her breast, his mouth latching onto a nipple and gently flicking it with his tongue. He was rewarded with Cath grinding her core against his erection.

"Stop teasing." She pleaded, her hands going to his shoulders to push him back onto the bed as he chuckled at her.

"Bit impatient are we?" He whispered around the nipple in his mouth.

"Yes," She hissed as he gently bit down on her tender little nub. "I want you inside me, and I want you to fuck me hard and fast." She ordered, grinning when she heard him growl against her breast.

Damn this woman new how to push his buttons. Cath always had come across to everyone as a well-mannered female officer, but beneath that facade there was another, the saltiest of Sailor's who had a real foul mouth. Very few people ever saw that side of her, but she knew how her crass words could take him from 0-60 in the blink of an eye. "Jesus, Cath." He said, bucking his hips against her.

She felt his hands gliding down her spine and across her bottom as he gripped her, pulling her body closer to his. She felt his fingers slipping threw her wet folds as he fastened his mouth around her other nipple grazing his teeth across the tender flesh. Cath gave a surprised little yell as he quickly rolled them over, his hands braced on either side of her head as he kept his weight of her upper body.

He shifted his weight so he was braced on one arm above Cath, his other trailing down her body and hooking behind her knee to pull her leg around his hip opening her more fully for his possession. He gasped as he felt Cath's hand gripping his erection, guiding him towards her body. Dropping his forehead against hers he savoured the sensation of pushing into her tight body.

Cath's hands went to his back as she welcomed her lover back into her body. She felt the pull of her muscles as her body stretched to accommodate his size, her moans of pleasure as he began to slowly move inside her body. It wasn't the hard and fast pace that she had demanded, but this was just the start of their love making. Hard and fast would come once Steve was ready, not before, he very rarely gave up full control to her in the bedroom. Wrapping her other leg around his hip, and digging her fingers into his back she gave her body completely to him.

Steve leaned forward, kissing her deeply as he rocked into her body gently. He was determined to be gentle with her; he knew how tender her ribs were. She moaned into his mouth, making him grin as he pulled away from the kiss. "Gonna have to be quiet, Cath." He whispered against her lips. "No trying to wake the neighbours."

He thrust into her a little deeper, smirking as he saw how she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Steve watched her face as he moved above her, mesmerized by her beauty. He leaned in kissing her, as her hands slid to his shoulders, attempting to pull him down closer towards her. He felt the sting of her nail's biting into his skin as he thrust into her a little harder.

He rolled to his side pulling Cath with him as he wrapped his arms tightly around her body, kissing her deeply before trailing kisses across her check and down her neck to suck at her pulse point. He heard the gasp and then the load moan she bit into his shoulder, in an attempt at being quiet. He kissed his way back up her neck, to her ear, nipping at her lobe as he whispered exactly what he wanted to do to her. He felt the shiver run threw her body and heard the excited moan as she moved her body in tune with his thrusts.

Steve knew Cath was as close to the edge as he was himself, as his pace quickened at the sound of her panting. He kissed her lips again pulling back slightly to look into her face. "Come for me, Cath." He ordered, as he closed his mouth over hers, capturing the small scream as her orgasm broke through her. He felt her body tightening around his, and he let go, spilling himself into her body.

Steve held her close as they both tried to get there breathing under control. She could still feel him inside her body, as he made no move to withdraw from her embrace. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck, sighing contently as he brushed kisses across her face.

"I love you, Catherine." He whispered against her forehead, when he could speak again.

Catherine looked up into his face, smiling back at him. "I love you too, Steve." She said, stretching up to tenderly kiss his lips.

...

Sunday 0700

Catherine slowly came awake, stretching her body and wincing at the slight pull of abused muscles, she rolled to her side to find Steve's half of the bed empty. She tapered down her disappointment his absence caused and climbed from the bed. She grabbed the shirt she'd pulled of last night and slipped it on, heading to the closet to see what clothes she still had here. Pulling on a pair of shorts she headed down stairs, noting how quiet the house was.

The Lanai doors were open letting in a cool breeze, the sound of the ocean moving against the shore. She turned as a sound behind her drew her attention to the stairs. Sam and Agent Callen were heading down the stairs, both fully dressed, ready for the day. Cath smiled a greeting at them before she headed into the kitchen to start on coffee.

"McGarrett still asleep?" Callen asked as he followed her into the kitchen.

"No. Steve's probably been up a while." She told them as she opened the cupboard with the coffee in, and placed some in the grinder.

"I don't see him anywhere." Callen said, glancing around the room, and taking in the child's painting pinned up on the fridge, as Catherine opened it to remove the milk, butter and fruit juice.

"Lanai doors are open so I'd say he's gone swimming, Agent Callen." She said placing the items she'd collected onto a tray.

Sam chuckled; He knew Steve kept in shape just as much as he did himself. "How many miles he covering these days?" Sam asked.

"Depends on his mood," She told Sam with a grin. "Never less than 5, though." She poured water into the cafeteria and placed the lid on it before picking up the tray and heading outside.

The 4 agents took in McGarrett's backyard, and the view of the Ocean. Glancing down to the water they could see the man cutting strongly threw the water as he made his way back to shore. Catherine poured the coffee and passed each of the agents a mug, before filling a 5th mug for Steve, spooning in a large spoonful of butter and stirring it into the bitter liquid.

"Seriously you're going to drink that?" Deek's asked, looking at the mug in front of her.

"No I'm not, this one's Steve's." She told him with a grin, as Sam chuckled beside her.

"It's a team thing; it boosts energy and enhances brain function." Sam explained to Deek's, grinning. "Maybe you should try it, Deek's."

"No way, why would anyone want to put butter in a perfectly good cup of coffee." He groused, shaking his head in confusion. "SEAL's are weird." He exclaimed.

Cath looked at Sam, "You know he kind of reminds me of Danny."

"We talking loud and annoying?" Sam asked.

Cath chuckled, shaking her head. "Definitely, Danny has a knack for pushing all Steve's buttons. The two of them argue like an old married couple." She said with a chuckle, watching as Steve made his way out of the water. He grabbed the towel he'd left on the battered wood chair near the water's edge and quickly towelled, as he made his way towards the house.

"That mine?" He asked as he spotted the coffee in front of her.

"Yeah." She said, handing him the mug.

Steve took hold of the mug, and thanked her as he dropped into the empty chair on her other side. "Mahalo"

"You have a beautiful view from your backyard." Kensi said, on a sigh taking in the view.

"Yeah, some of the smaller islands are pretty spectacular, most are uninhabited so the wildlife thrives on them. Makes for some pretty amazing free diving experiences." He told her, remembering the last free dive he'd done and feeling guilty. He needed to talk to Cath, tell her what he'd done, especially after what they'd shared last night.

"I noticed some boards outside last night, you surf?" Deek's asked.

Steve grinned, "We're in Hawaii, it's pretty much mandatory, even Danny surf's." he told him.

"Really, I never had him pegged for the beach sort of guy." Deek's said, trying to imagine the blonde detective on a board.

"Grace wanted to learn, so Danny learned how to surf. He's actually pretty good, even if he hasn't learnt the concept of not stealing someone's wave yet." Steve mused.

"I'd say that was pretty admirable, taking lessons just for your kid." Kensi said with respect for the man.

"Danny would do anything for Grace." Catherine pointed out, before pushing herself out of the chair. She turned to look at Steve. "I'm going to shower." She told him.

"You want me to re-tape your ribs?" He asked, knowing she'd probably want to remove the bandages so she could clean the hospital smell from her body.

"Yeah." She said over her shoulder as she made her way back into the house.

...

Sunday 0900 hrs.

Palace

The NCIS agents walked into five-0's offices, and headed for the smart table, where they could see the members of 5-0 stood going through some of the evidence from their case. Danny looked up as they entered, his eyes going to the doors behind them, as he realized Steve and Cath weren't with them.

Sam noticed the look the Detective sent their way and explained. "Catherine wanted to pick her car up, Steve's running her down to the unit."

"Right." He said. "We've been going over the evidence, seeing if we can spot something we missed yesterday. The crime lab was able to recover some security footage from the warehouse cctv; we're just waiting for them to send it over." He told them getting down to business.

...

Sunday 0900 hrs.

Pearl City - Storage Unit.

Steve pulled the truck to a stop outside the storage unit, Cath indicated. Throwing it in to park as she opened the door and climbed out. She pulled the key from her pocket and moved towards the door.

Cath unlocked the door, as Steve moved from behind her, pushing the metal shutter upwards. Her blue Corvette took up most of the space inside, but Steve could make out a few large box's stacked up at the back of the unit. He knew the contents of most of the boxes had come from her old apartment, the others were the mountain of clothes and personal memento's she'd collected during her Naval career.

Steve watched as she made her way towards the back of the locker, and began moving a few of the box's aside. "Hey Let me help." He said moving across to move the boxes out of her way. "Which one do you need?"

"There's a couple of box's at the back," She said pointing at the one's she wanted. "I need some better underwear than I have at yours." She quietly told him, watching his face as he grinned.

"I kind of like it when you don't bother with it," He smirked at her.

"You would." She told him in an amused voice, adding. "My breast's unfortunately have other ideas. I'm pretty tender because of the baby." Cath explained as she slit the tape to open the box. She rummaged through the box, pushing items aside until she found what she was after. She pulled the lingerie out of the box, placing it on top of another box as she opened the other box and pulled out several long sleeved shirts and a few pairs of slacks.

Cath felt Steve move closer, his breath warm against her ear, as he turned her to face him. "There's something I need to talk to you about. I know this isn't the best time to do this, but after last night, we need to talk." He told her gently, his hands on her hips as he looked into her eyes.

Cath looked at him in confusion, wondering what he wanted to talk about. "I'm not going to leave, I meant what I said." She said thinking that might still be his main concern.

"I know." He said, swallowing nervously as he got the courage to tell her. "A few weeks after you left, I..." He paused, pulling in a deep breath nervously. "Get it together McGarrett," He told himself. "I went on a few date's." He got out of a rush.

Cath sucked in a deep breath, biting her lip, as tears threatened to fall. She stepped back, letting his hands drop from her waist as she wrapped her arms around herself as if protecting herself. "You're seeing someone?" She asked on a sob, as the tears spilled from her eyes. The thought of what they'd done last night running threw her head, making her feel sick.

"No." He said shaking his head in denial. "I'm not seeing anyone. I tried to move on, Cath, but I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else but you. I broke it of when I realized that I still wanted you." He took a step closer, his hand held out towards her. He sighed when she took hold, allowing him to pull her closer as he wrapped his arms around her.

Cath buried her face into the warmth of his chest, breathing in his familiar scent as she cried. She could feel his hands on her back as he rubbed soothing circles, as he let her cry. Trying to get her tears under control, she took a shaky breath, pulling back from his shoulder to look into his face. His eyes were full of remorse and a hint of guilt, as he swallowed nervously, waiting for her to speak.

"How many?" She asked.

He shook his head confused by her question. "How many, What?"

"Date's?"

"I didn't exactly count them. I went out with her for a few weeks, that's all." He told her. "Free diving, Coffee and drinks." He mentioned, watching as she gave a small smile.

"You didn't make dinner plans?" She asked with a grin as he casually mentioned the activities.

"No, you're the only person I want to NOT make it to dinner with." Steve said, leaning down to brush his lips with hers.

She pulled away from his kiss to ask in a quiet voice. "Did you..." She swallowed the lump in her throat, and tried again. "Did you sleep with her?"

He didn't answer, just nodded his head "I'm sorry for hurting you, Cath."

She let the tears spill down her cheeks as she pulled away from him. "I'm sorry I didn't trust or believe in our relationship enough to tell you the truth. I should have told you I was going on a Navy sanctioned mission."

"I understand why you didn't tell me, Cath." He told her gently, as he looked into her face.

Cath swallowed; glad they were both being honest with each other. "Can we start again?" She asked in a small voice.

"I don't want to start again, Cath." He said, quickly adding. "Let's forget the last 12 months ever happened, and carry on where we left of 12 months ago."

Cath smiled, "I'd like that." She said wiping the tears from her eyes, and leaning up to kiss him.

Steve kissed her back, his hand moving to cup the back of her head as he deepened the kiss. He felt her hand's slipping around his back, pulling him closer as she moaned. He pulled back, his kisses becoming more tender. He rested his forehead against hers, pulling air into his lungs.

"Marry me?" Cath said on a rush, needing him to be hers completely.

Steve didn't say anything, just smiled at her. He reached into his pocket, his hand closing around the box he'd slipped in his pocket that morning. Pulling his hand from his pocket, he thumbed the lid open just as Cath spoke again.

"Say something." Cath said, suddenly nervous he didn't feel the same way.

Steve pulled away from her, bringing the box up till it was level with her line of sight. He watched her face as she noticed the ring, her eyes quickly moving to his. "Is that a good enough answer?" He asked with a grin, pulling out of her embrace and dropping to his knee in front of her.

"Catherin Rollins, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" He asked, taking the ring from the box and slipping it onto her left hand.

"Steve, it's beautiful." She whispered, completely stunned by the ring. She sank to her knees in front of him, leaning in to kiss him. "I'd be honoured to be your wife." She told him, leaning in to kiss him.

...

Sunday 1000 hrs.

Palace.

Steve pushed the door open, allowing Catherine to pass through before he followed her into the bull pen. He noticed both teams stood around the table, watching the screen in front of them as cctv footage of the warehouse was played. He saw Cath stop in front of him as she noticed the footage being played. Her breath hitched when she saw herself being beaten, her 2 team mates, shouting insults at their captures to draw their attention away from her. Steve quickly moved to her side, grasping her shoulder for support. Chin was closing the recording down as the other people in the room turned to see Catherine stood watching.

"Eric was able to pull some security footage from the damaged cctv. We've just being going through the footage." Chin explained, watching Cath closely. "I'm sorry we didn't hear you come in, I'd have turned it off earlier." He apologized.

"It's okay." She said finally moving, stepping around Chin and opening up the camera feed again.

Everyone watched as she fast forwarded threw the footage till she came to what she was looking for. She paused the image, at a smartly dressed woman in her late forties. Cath was staring at the woman, her eyes fixed on the image deep in thought.

"Cath," Steve said from behind her, his hand once again going to her shoulder. "Talk to me."

"She was the one giving the orders. It didn't make sense at the time, but something she said, about the ultimate pain of retribution being through the eyes of a child." Cath turned to look at him. "She made sure that every hit was on my upper body or face, never my stomach. Except this one time, one of the goons hit my rib cage really low, she put a bullet in his knee."

"She knew you were pregnant." Steve surmised, understanding what she'd told them.

"Now I think about it, she had a slight Irish accent." Cath told them.

Kono was busy running her face threw the system. "We have a match guy's. Elizabeth Barrow, wife of our Commander. Her maiden name is McKinsey, born in Dublin, Ireland. She's been married to Barrow for 4 years, has a son to a previous relationship, he's twelve." She told them.

"Wait," Cath said, tapping away at the keyboard of the smart table. "Barrow's page 2 entries has a 12-year-old child listed as one of his dependents. He's listed as Mathew Anton Barrow."

"See if you can pull a birth certificate for the boy. It can't be a coincidence that the boy's middle name is Anton." Steve said, watching as Catherine tapped away at the keyboard.

"Got it." Cath said, sliding the image to the screen. "Father's name is listed as Anton Hesse." She said, turning to look at Steve. They had their connection.

"Looks like we have our connection." Callen said. "We also have Barrow visiting the warehouse on three separate occasions."

"We'll need a secure location to do the interrogation." Sam said, before asking. "We okay here?"

"Yeah, I actually insist on it." Steve replied.

"You should stay out of this, Steve." Sam told him firmly. "We're gonna nail this s.o.b. for what he's done, but we need him in one piece."

"No. I need to do this." Steve told him.

Sam stared at him, sizing up the situation. Nodding his head, he agreed. "Fine, but you let my team take the lead on this. That's non-negotiable." He told him.

"Okay." Steve agreed.

Sam looked over at Cath, studying her a moment before telling her what he needed. "Cath, can you get me a location for Barrow and his wife. See if you can dig up anything about the wife's past as well. I might need you to access the recon satellite again once were ready to go in."

Cath looked across to Steve, waiting for him to give his go ahead. He nodded at her and she quickly set to work.

...

Sunday 1200 hrs.

Danny's Camaro.

Danny looked across at Steve as he drove the Camaro threw the traffic of Pearl city, as they made their way to Barrow's home. Steve had been quiet since they had left the palace, clearly deep in thought.

"So, I noticed you asked!" Danny stated, tapping at his left ring finger, finally breaking the silence

"Yeah," Steve said turning to look at his partner, with a goofy grin on his face. "Although Cath kind of stole the op from under me."

"Wait, your telling me Cath proposed?" Danny said, grinning back at his friend, and chuckling when Steve just nodded his head.

"I had the whole op planned. I was going to take her up to Waimanalo point later, watch the sunset, and ask her to marry me. But Cath, she beat me to it." Steve told him with a grin, not really bothered by the fact.

"So what you just said yes?"

"No. I'd stashed the ring in my pocket this morning, so I did the whole down on one knee thing with her. I felt I at least owed her that for making her wait so long." Steve said, and then smiled.

"You tell her about Lyn?" Danny asked, curious to know if Steve had actually talked to Cath about him dating the other woman. He was a little concerned that someone else might tell her, and cause them problems further down the line.

"Yeah, I told Cath." He said.

"And she's okay?" Danny asked, carefully testing the water's.

"Yeah, we're good. Thinking about it, Cath did exactly the same when she'd dated Billy." Steve said quietly before grinning at Danny. "She said yes."

"Yes she did. Congratulation's Brah, I'm happy for you. I know I call you and stuff, but you my friend will be a great husband and father, never doubt that." He told him honestly.

"Mahalo Brah. You know your my best man right?" Steve said, grinning at him.

"I better be, or you and I would be having some serious words." Danny told him with a grin.

...

Sunday 1200 hrs.

Lou's SUV

"You guys notice, Cath's hand." Kono asked from the back seat of the SUV a grin firmly in place.

Chin turned to look at Kono, smiling back at her. "I noticed the ring, who knew Steve would have such good taste." He teased.

"I saw that little beauty when he bought it." Lou told them, before sharing his concerns. "I hope she's gonna stick around this time." Lou said; worried how McGarrett would react if she upped and left again.

"I think she will." Chin said. "I got the impression that Catherine hadn't wanted to leave that last time."

"Yeah, Cath seemed pretty distrait over having to lie to Steve about the mission. I'm kind of looking forward to the boss getting all soft and mushy over the baby." Kono said with a huge grin on her face.

Chin laughed at that, adding. "I'm sure he'll be a great father. He's very good with Grace, and was wonderful when Mary left Joan with him."

"You do realize that if Cath has a girl, he'll be ten times worse than Danny." Lou pointed out, chuckling at the image that was forming in his head. McGarrett had an over protective streak a mile long, and would definitely protect his family at any cost.

"God, you think we should pray for a boy?" Kono said on a giggle.

"Can you imagine Steve, dressing her in frilly pink outfits?" Lou said; raising his eyebrows and looking at Kono threw the rear-view mirror.

Kono threw her head back, laughing at the image of her boss surrounded by frilly pink outfits and Barbie dolls. Chin and Lou were both chuckling from the front seat. "I'd so love to see that." Kono said chuckling as she wiped tears from her eyes.

...

Sunday 1230 hrs.

Barrow residence.

The Camaro and the two black SUV's pulled to a stop outside the home where several H.P.D vehicles were also pulling to a stop outside. Both team's quickly geared up; weapons were checked and readied as they made their way towards the front and rear of the house. H.P.D. used the battering ram to gain access to the home, as Five-0 and NCIS quickly entered and began searching the property.

Movement in the lounge caught their attention, as they swept the room. The battered and bloodied body of Commander Barrow was lying on the floor a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The man groaned in pain, as Steve used his foot to roll the man over to check if he was armed. Steve noted that his hands were secured in front of him with duct tape, and his mouth was gagged.

His eyes locked on the face above him and he blanched realizing who was looking down at him. He saw the rage in the other man's eyes as he pointed the gun at his head. In that moment Derick thought he was going to die, he'd read McGarrett's personnel file. He knew what the man was trained to do, and given the injuries his wife had inflicted on Rollins, he didn't expect to live to face court martial. He closed his eyes, silently preparing himself for the bullet that would take his life.

Steve watched as he closed his eyes, and quickly leaned down to check for a pulse. Barrow's eyes snapped open at the contact, and Steve had to push down on the urge to bury a bullet in the bastard. Pulling his knife from its sheath, he cut through the gag in his mouth. "Where's your wife?" He hissed at him, the knife pressed against Barrow's throat to dissuade him from calling for help.

"She left with Michael." He said in a scared voice.

"Where?" McGarrett demanded.

"I don't know, I swear." He said desperately wanting the man to believe him. "They didn't tell me."

"House is clear." Danny informed Steve, as he returned to the main room. "Safe has been emptied."

"I've got Cath putting out Bolo's on Hesse and the wife. We'll find them." Sam told him.

"Get this piece of shit back to interrogation." Steve told them, roughly pulling the man to his feet.

"We'll need to get him checked out first." Sam said taking in the bleeding wound on the man's shoulder.

"Don't need to," Steve told him. "Five-0 has full immunity; don't need to bother with patching him up before we interrogate him." Steve added with a grin, making Barrow blanch. "Book him Danno." He told his partner as he pushed the injured man in the direction of the door.

...

Sam and Callen were just on the way back to the black SUV after talking to the HPD forensics team, when the ringing of Steve's cell phone came to their attention as he answered.

"Hey, Cath. You get anything on Hesse or the wife?" He asked.

 _"We have another problem! There's been a power cut, we're in lock down." She told Steve._

"We're heading back now. Get yourself armed, your tac vest's still in the storage locker, be careful till we know what's happening." He told her, the worry starting to creep into his voice, as he motioned the 2 teams over to him.

 _"Always." She said, before disconnecting the call._

"The Palace has gone into Lockdown. Chin get a hold of The Chief, I don't want HPD going in till Five-0 get there, tell him not to lift the lockdown under any circumstances. Lou I want SWAT surrounding the building, no-one in or out." He said. Lou nodded, and moved away to make the call.

"Lockdown?" Sam asked.

"In the event of a power outage, we go into full lockdown. We had a situation a couple of years back, when the Palace was targeted by a terrorist cell. Emergency generators keep Five-0 online, but power to the rest of the building is completely cut until The Chief, The governor or myself lift the lockdown, no-one in or out." He explained quickly as they all made their way to their vehicles. "We split into pairs and do a room by room search, once we get there."

"Cath okay?" Danny asked, sensing Steve's tension as they neared the Camaro.

"Yeah, she's tacking up now." He said. "I've got a bad feeling about this. It's too much of a coincidence."

"Hey, we've got her back." Danny said opening the passenger side door as Steve slid in behind the wheel of the Camaro.

...

Palace.

Catherine hurried down the corridor that lead to the Five-0 storage locker, scanning the empty hallway as she quickly and efficiently entered her code into the key pad outside the door. Entering the room, she quickly grabbed one of the hand guns nearest to her, pulling out the drawer which held the ammo, she loaded the weapon, and stored extra clips in the pocket of her jeans, before she moved to the back of the room where her tac vest was stored along with her leg holster.

She quickly strapped the holster to her leg, slipping the weapon into it as she pulled a rifle from the rack, and loaded it, slipping extra clips into her vest. She left the storage locker, securing the room behind her, and scanning the corridor as she made her way back into the main office.

Once back in office she headed to the smart table, placing the rifle beside her as she started accessing the Palace's security camera, seeing if she could pick up anyone on the footage. The Palace was pretty empty with it being a weekend, the public offices empty of people. Cath watched as the guard on the front desk made his way towards the doors, weapon drawn as he opened the doors, allowing Steve and the rest of five-0 to enter the building.

Cath saw Steve give orders to the HPD officers, NCIS and Five-0 before everyone headed off in different directions to do a room to room search. Picking up her cell, she contacted the members of five-0. "Guy's I have a visual of you. I'm not picking anyone up in the corridors, or stairwells."

 _"The security guard said a couple came in about 30 minutes ago, description matches Elizabeth Barrow and Michael Hesse. We'll clear the building floor by floor, just sit tight for now." Steve told her, as he began to scan the room he'd just entered._

Cath's eyes flitted to one of the screens as she saw movement. Elizabeth Barrow excited a room, the security camera feed indicating it came from the second floor on the east of the building. "I have movement on the second floor east corridor, It's Barrow. Still no visual on Hesse."

 _"Okay, we're heading that way now." Steve told her as he entered the stairwell and made his way up the stairs._

Cath scanned threw the different camera's following Barrow's route. She watched as the woman entered the stairwell, just as the camera feed cut out. "God dammit," Cath exclaimed as she began tapping away at the keyboard trying to get the feed up and running.

 _"Cath, talk to me. What's happening?" Steve asked, worried with her outburst._

"I've lost visual, someone's cut the feed." She told him in frustration. "My last visual had Barrow entering the stairwell."

 _"Sounds like they could be heading up to you, we're on our way, just be careful." He said as he started to sprint up the stairs, closely followed by Danny, Sam and Callen._

...

A noise behind Cath alerted her to someone entering the office's, and she quickly grabbed the rifle from the table and moved towards the wall, crouching down as low as she could out of sight, waiting. Moving slowly and carefully around the edges of the room, Cath was able to peek into Danny's office threw the partially closed blinds, and had a clear line of sight threw his office door. Barrow had just entered Steve's office, and was checking under the desk and behind furniture in search of her.

Cath slowly crept along the wall of the office and into the corridor, just as Hesse excited Chin's office a pistol pointed directly at her head.

"Drop the weapon." He snarled his Irish accent prominent in his speech.

Cath lowered the rifle to the floor, and stood upright again, her hands in the air. She watched as Hesse, moved towards her, and bent to retrieve the gun. Cath took the opportunity to kick out at him. Her foot connecting forcefully with his jaw, before she spun and kicked him in the midsection, watching in satisfaction as he crumpled to the ground in pain.

Barrow came at her from her left side, slamming Cath into the wall. Spinning to face her attacker, she was able to bring her hands up to block the next blow to her body. Cath was able to get a few hits to Barrow's face in, causing the woman to stumble backwards to ward of some of the blows. Cath saw Barrow pull her hand back, dropping it lower before attempting to strike a solid blow to her stomach. Turning quickly to the side, the blow glanced across her injured ribs, causing the cracked ribs to break.

Cath quickly drew her elbow up slamming it into the woman's face, and causing Barrow to cry out in pain, her nose almost certainly broke. As she stumbled back, Cath grabbed hold of her arm, spinning her round and sweeping her feet from under her, as she slammed Barrow face first on to the floor. A noise in the corridor caused her to look up, just as Steve burst through the doors, aiming his weapon and firing at Hesse.

Hesse's body dropped to the ground, the gurgle in his throat telling of the impact of the bullet's Steve had fired into him. Steve's gaze took in Catherine, as she pinned Barrow's body to the ground with a well-placed knee in her back. "You okay?" He asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She told him, a small smile playing at her lips.

Steve passed her his cuffs, allowing her the satisfaction of handcuffing the woman, before he helped Cath stand then pulled the other woman to her feet, and handed her of too Danny. Steve pulled Cath into his embrace, his hand going to her head to hold her against his chest, as he attempted to get control of the fear that had racked his body. They'd heard the fight taking place, Steve fearing for Cath's safety as he'd rushed towards the offices.

His relief at finding her safe was overwhelming. He pulled back, looking into her eyes as he brushed his lips across hers in a gentle kiss. Hearing footsteps behind him, he reluctantly pulled away turning to see Sam and Callen coming up behind him.

"With the help of HPD we've done a full sweep, there's no one in the building. Your ME is coming to collect Hesse, and William's has taken the wife down to interrogation." Callen told him, glancing between McGarrett and Rollins.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he looked at Cath.

"Yeah." She answered; the adrenaline still pumping threw her body.

"You're getting checked out." Steve declared, adding. "No arguments." When it looked as if she was about to disagree with him.

"Okay," She said, sighing in frustration at Steve's over protective nature.

"Great work on taking them down." Sam said, giving her a smile. "Looks as if Commander Barrow might be very chatty in relation to his wife. We've got enough to nail them both; weapons are back in our possession, so all in all a pretty good op."

"Good." She said, pulling in a breath and slowly letting it out. "At least Jamerson and Cooper didn't die for nothing. I owe the two of them so much. They tried to keep them off me as much as they could." Cath told him, swiping at a loan tear as it ran down her cheek.

"Try to minimize the blows to the rest of your team; help's you all too last longer." Callen pointed out, realizing what her team had done.

Cath smiled sadly before replying. "There motif was a little different than that, they both knew about the baby. I had really bad morning sickness the first few weeks; Jamerson figured that out really quick." She told them with a small smile. "They were pretty pissed that Barrow didn't pull me from the op."

"He'll pay for his part in all this." Sam told her, just as the other members of both teams came through the doors.

"The members of Five-0 and our NCIS colleagues have come to the decision, that we're having a night at side street in celebration. Don't forget your wallet, Steve. You're buying the first round." Danny said grinning at his partner.

"Wait a minute, I'm buying." He asked, crossing his arms across his chest and staring at Danny.

"It's your engagement party, babe." Danny said with a smile, clearly enjoying himself at Steve's expense.

"Come on boss man, you didn't think we was gonna let you get away with not having a party." Kono said grinning at him as well.

"Fine, first drink only after that you're on your own." He said shaking his head in amusement as his team high- fived each other. "We'll meet you down there about 1900 hrs. I'm gonna run Cath by the hospital, get her checked out." He told them as he placed his hand on her back and ushered her to the door, Cath rolling her eyes at Danny as she passed.

...

Sunday 1910 hrs.

Side street.

Steve escorted Cath threw the crowd of people milling around the entrance of side street, heading towards their usual table at the back of the bar. He spotted the members of the 2 teams, clustered around the tables, along with more of their extended Ohana. Kamekona, Max, Eric, Gerry, Grover's wife and kids and Grace were there. And as Steve looked around the bar he noticed quite a few of the HPD, and SWAT were also present, and he grinned as he noticed team 9 and his SEAL team propping up the bar.

"Looks like five-0 and NCIS have had a busy afternoon." Steve said, leaning into Cath so she could hear him over the noise.

"Not just them, I'd say team 6 have been pretty busy as well, most of my old unit is here as well." Cath told him, pointing out several of her former colleagues, and her 2 bunk mates from the Enterprise.

"We've definitely been set up here." He said grinning at her.

"Yeah," She agreed, smiling back at him. "I've missed this." She told him, indicating their extended family.

"Hey, about time you two got here," Danny said as he spotted them. "Everything go okay at the hospital?"

"My ribs have been upgraded to broke," she told him. "But the baby is fine." She explained with a satisfied smile.

"So, busy afternoon Danno?" Steve said with a raised eyebrow as he indicated the rest of the room.

"Sam made a couple of phone calls to SEAL team's 6 and 9, your team made a few calls to Cath's bunk mates?" He asked, and Cath nodded her head to indicate he was correct. "They made a few more to the rest of your colleagues who were on shore leave. Chin contacted Duke who intern notified all of HPD, Kono contacted Kamekona and Max, Lou got in touch with SWAT, and I made sure my daughter, and the governor were made aware of this little shin dig. I also called Mary to let her know what was going on, she said she'll be out on the next flight, and would call with her flight times later." He said proud of what he'd achieved in the short space of time.

"Mahalo, Danny." Steve thanked, pulling him into a hug.

Danny, slapped him on the back, pulling back to grin at them both. "Your welcome, now if you'll excuse me a minute, there's something I need to do." Danny told them cryptically before he disappeared into the crowd. A moment later his whereabouts became obvious, as they heard his voice over the microphone.

"Okay, Can I have everyone's attention? If you're not here for the engagement, just ignore me. Steve I know I told you the bar bill was on you," A load chorus of hoo-ya's could be heard from the two SEAL team's. "Well you'll be pleased to know, you don't have to pay for it. I have a message from the governor, he said to enjoy yourselves and send him the bar bill. Your all gonna have to show either your badge or Navy I.D's to get it on the tab."

"Everyone else, I think you'll all agree it's about time these two made there "Thing" official. I've known Steve for nearly six years, now we didn't hit it of strait away, he jacked me into his little task force, got me shot at, and that was just the first day." He told the assembled room.

"Never was good at first impressions." Cath shouted to Danny, grinning across at Steve.

"Hey, I made one with you." He said grinning back at her.

"It seems I have low expectations." She told him with a grin, several of their friends' laughing at her words.

"Thanks'," He told her, shaking his head in amusement.

"Being his partner definitely needs to come with a health warning, but I couldn't ask for a better friend. You've been there for me threw some pretty crappy times, and I'm pretty sure that most of the people in this room will feel the same way about you. We're all very privileged to call you friend. Catherine, you came as a surprise, I actually thought he was gay at one point." He told her, their friends laughing at Steve's indignant splutter.

"Hey. I'm re-thinking the best man spot, right now."

"Nah, that's okay, I'm still doing it." Danny said to the amusement of the assembled group. "Like I was saying, Cath, I thought he was gay. The amount of very pretty young ladies that would make it known they were interested, and he'd just walk right past them, never even notice them. This happened a lot, so it got me thinking, until we actually found out that there was a certain Navy Lieutenant he had on his radar. Now we knew you had to be pretty special to get his attention, but what none of Five-0 really figured on was you being a female version of him." He told her, most of the room breaking into laughter.

"Well once we met you, we knew why you were so important to him. You are very smart, funny, courageous and loyal, and most importantly you can put up with the annoying Neanderthal animal. Now everyone, raise your glasses, bottles or pineapples, whatever really floats your boat. To Steve and Catherine, it's about bloody time." He said raising his glass in a toast to them.

The room erupted with a series of Hoo-ya's, clapping and wolf whistles, as Steve pulled Cath towards him and kissed her. He felt her hands loop around his neck as he dipped her slightly, deepening the kiss before gently bringing her upright again and resting his forehead against hers. Friends milled around, hugs and pats on the back as they congratulated them. Grace had run over to them as soon as her father had finished his little speech, her hug the most enthusiastic, causing Cath to wince a little as the girl squeezed her ribs a little too hard. Steve had gently admonished her, telling her to be gentle with Aunt Cath.

Steve glanced across at Catherine, reluctant to let his fiancée out of his sight for more than a second. Catherine had promised she was staying, but the fear was still there, they would have to work threw it together. He couldn't wait for the next step in their relationship, having took so long to get to this place in their lives. Cath and himself had come to the decision that they didn't want to wait long to get married. Cath would start planning their next op tomorrow, once he'd left for work.

...

THE END...for now.


	2. Chapter 2

Hawaii...

McGarrett's residence

Thursday 0600 hrs.

The beeping of the alarm roused Steve from his sleep, rolling to his side he slapped his hand on top of the annoying thing silencing it. He felt Cath stirring beside him, her arm slipping around his waist as she snuggled up to his back. He turned over to look at her, Catherine's face tucking into his shoulder as he slipped his arm around her.

"Morning." She groaned, lifting her face to meet his gaze.

"Morning, Catherine." He said quietly lowering his face to hers to kiss her.

Cath returned his gentle kiss, pulling back when she felt him deepen the kiss. "I'll be back in a minute." She said throwing the covers of her legs and slipping from the bed.

Steve watched as she slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He rolled to his back sighing loudly as he heard the click of the lock, realising that she wasn't coming back to bed. He threw the covers back, sitting up and rubbing a hand across his face in frustration when he heard the shower. Steve knew something was wrong with Catherine, but she wouldn't talk to him about it.

Catherine had been back home a week and in that time they'd only had sex, no Steve thought they'd made love, just once. He was feeling frustrated at having Catherine so close to him every night and every morning and not being able to make love to her. She would curl up to him on the couch while they'd make out, but as soon as they entered the bedroom she'd disappear into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When she emerged a few minutes later wearing her sleep clothes, she'd cuddle up to him in bed and pretend to fall asleep straight away. Every morning she'd bolt from the bed to shower and dress before breakfast.

Steve kept going back over everything he'd said and done in the past week, thinking he'd upset her somehow. He drew a blank each time, totally clueless over what was bothering Catherine. Maybe I should just take her away for a couple of days, he thought to himself. Give them a chance to spend some time together, maybe get Cath to talk about whatever was bothering her.

Catherine noticed Steve was sat on his side of the bed watching her as she came out of the bathroom. His eyes wandered over the towel she had wrapped around herself after her shower. She watched the heat building in his eyes as he pushed himself up from the edge of the bed, stalking towards her. Cath swallowed the nervous feeling down as he approached.

Slipping his arms around her waist Steve pulled her into his embrace, leaning down to brush his lips across her own. He felt her hands slipping around his neck, as she kissed him back. He took advantage of her compliance deepening his kiss as he pulled her body flusher against his own. He pulled back from there kiss, needing air as he kissed his way down her neck licking at her pulse point as she drew in a ragged breath.

Cath's skin felt alive as he kissed his way along her jaw and down her neck. Her eyes closed as she felt her resolve slipping knowing how close to giving into her desire she was. Feeling him moving them backwards, stepping towards the bed caused her eyes to flick open. She froze in his arms, stopping him in his tracks.

"Catherine?" He asked in concern. She'd froze completely in his arm's her body going rigid. He pulled away from her making eye contact. She looked lost and confused. "Talk to me?" He pleaded.

"I'm sorry." She whispered quietly attempting to pull out of his embrace.

He held her still not allowing her to distance herself from him. He realised that now might be the better time to talk. "Tell me what's wrong. If I've done something to upset you just tell me."

She shook her head denying his words. "It's not you, it's me." She told him, a small sob escaping her.

"What? I can't help if I don't know." He growled at her, frustrated and confused.

"I just need a little time to work things out in my head." She told him, standing on her tip toes and brushing a kiss across his cheek before slipping out of his embrace. She quickly crossed to the closet and pulled out clothes for the day, she dropped the towel and speedily dressed before he could ask any more questions.

...

Office of Special Operation's Los Angeles.

Thursday 0800 hrs.

Nell walked down the stairs a small white envelope in her hand. Crossing the floor of the bull pen she headed towards Sam's desk. The team didn't look up too busy with completing their reports from there last case to notice the petite analyst. Nell came to a stop in front of the desk, Sam looking up as he finally noticed her.

"We catch a case?" Sam asked looking at her.

"No." She replied holding out the envelope to him. "This came for you this morning. It was amongst the files sent from the Five-0 team."

"Thanks, Nell." He thanked her as he took the envelope from her hand. He noticed his name written in the distinct handwriting of Steve McGarrett. He turned the envelope over in his hand, testing the weight and feel.

"You going to open it?" Callen asked, gesturing towards the envelope in his partner's hand.

"Just seems strange that Smooth dog would send a letter. We usually just catch up with a quick call or shoot an email of once in a while." Sam told him as he reached for the knife he kept in his pocket, and slit the top of the envelope open. He shook the contents out on the desk, a letter and 3 more smaller envelopes falling out, each addressed to his other team mates and himself. Sam picked the letter up, quickly reading the few lines that was scrawled on it in Steve's handwriting. He grinned as he quickly read it, and passed the envelopes to the team.

Callen took the envelope that Sam passed him, frowning as he noticed his name on the front. "What's this?" He asked as he opened the letter, pulling out the simple card inside.

Deeks glanced at the envelope noting that it was addressed to Kensi and himself, so he passed it along to Kensi to open. He watched as Kensi used her knife to open the envelope, pulling out the white card.

"Wow, talk about not wasting time." Kensi said as she read the detail's on the card.

"I'll say." Said Callen as he read his.

"You know most people are just gonna assume it's a shot gun wedding, when they find out about the kid?" Deeks said as he read the card from over Kensi's shoulder.

"Yeah." Sam agreed, before adding. "Although everyone that has ever served with the 2 of them, will just realise it was the kick in the pants Steve needed."

...

Hawaii...

Danny's Camaro

Thursday 0800 hrs

"Okay, what's wrong?" Danny asked glancing across at his partner, who for once was sat in the passenger seat of the Camaro.

"I'm worried about Catherine." He told Danny, turning his head to look at his friend.

"Why, what's happened." Asked Danny as he took in the unhappy and confused look on Steve's face.

"Nothing." Steve said under his breath, hoping Danny didn't hear him. "Something's wrong but she won't talk to me. I'm worried it might be PTSD." He said.

Danny zeroed in on Steve's whispered words, before noting the other worry on his partner's mind. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. "So you need to drag her down to her Doctor, right. Get her treated, talk to the therapist, yada, yada." He said, then mentioned. "And now explain the nothing comment?" He ordered.

Steve shook his head, not wanting to discuss that comment. As frustrated as he was, he didn't feel the need to explain to Danny that he wasn't getting any right now. Catherine had clearly wanted him this morning, she'd been on the same page as him right till she froze and practically told him no.

"I can't help if you don't tell me, Steve." Danny pointed out, watching as Steve snorted and rolled his eyes at him. "Nothing?" He asked again.

Steve sighed deeply, turning to look at his partner and deciding he did need to confide some of it with his partner. "Okay, Catherine and I haven't done..." he paused trying to choose his words, embarrassed by the whole talk. "Just once the first night she was home." He added on a rush.

Danny laughed at his partner's obvious discomfort. "Let me get this straight. You think something is wrong because you haven't had sex for a week? Have you even considered that maybe, just maybe, Catherine isn't in the mood because of the baby?"

Steve glared at him, thinking about their interaction over the past week. Catherine had been responsive when he'd kissed her, but the way she'd pulled back this morning, no what Danny said didn't make sense. He shook his head at Danny.

"Look when Rachel was pregnant with Grace, we went through a patch where Rachel just wasn't interested in sex. She had terrible morning sickness to start and then this fear that we'd somehow hurt the baby if we did it." Danny shared with his partner.

"I don't think it's that. We can be making out on the couch and as soon as I suggest we head to bed, she goes all cold on me. This morning she bolted for the bathroom as soon as we woke up, then when we were kissing she just slammed on the brakes and got dressed." He explained.

"You think she's having second thoughts?" Danny asked referring to their engagement.

"No. Cath's been planning the wedding since Monday, we did the invites on Tuesday after Catherine booked the chapel and the hotel and she's busy making plans with Mary, Kono and Grace to go dress shopping. She's got dossier's and notes on everything that's going on. She's definitely not changed her mind." Steve told him, outlining their wedding plans. "It's something else."

"Have you talked to her about it?" Danny asked, knowing Steve's lack of verbal skills when it came to discussing serious matters with Catherine.

"Yes, I've tried. She won't tell me what's wrong." He said, thumping his head against the headrest in frustration. "She said she needed time to work things out in her head."

"Which is why you think she has PTSD." Finished Danny, understanding a little better on where Steve's possible diagnosis came from.

"Yeah. She went through something similar when Billy died, but she never tried to push me away." Steve told him, frustrated at the situation. "I was thinking of taking Catherine away for a few day's see if I can get her to relax and open up to me, tell me what's bothering her."

"It can't hurt. You have a destination in mind?" Danny asked, thinking maybe Steve would take Catherine to Maui or somewhere similar.

"Yeah. There's somewhere Dad and Mom used to take Mary and me when we were kids. It's one of the small Islands, there's a great spot for swimming and camping." Steve told him.

"You do know Cath might not be up to camping?" Replied Danny.

Steve looked at him clearly confused, Catherine never objected to camping. "Catherine's okay with camping, she's had wilderness survival training." Steve explained.

"Yes I'm sure that Ramboette is thoroughly versed in your vision of the ideal vacation destination. I can imagine your op now. His and hers matching camies, pack full of m.r.e's, and a little tent set up in a mud encrusted field, with the sound of gun fire lulling you to sleep." Danny snarked at him.

"Actually, that wasn't the type of op I was planning." Defended Steve. "I was planning on taking some real food with us, and the camp site I have in mind has a sandy beach around a small inlet. Definitely no gun fire as the place is deserted, but the camos can stay." Steve outlined, adding. "Catherine always looks hot in her blue camos."

"Only you would think that." Danny said shaking his head his partner.

"You do know Cath finds it hot when I wear my dress whites when we have to attend something on base?" Steve asked.

"I guessed as much, but that's a woman thing. You know the whole, Officer and Gentleman thing." Danny explained. "Women have a thing for men in uniform, any uniform."

"It's not that Danny. Catherine's spent all her life surrounded by the Navy. Seeing guy's in uniform isn't that big of a deal with her." Steve said.

Danny laughed when a thought came in his head. "Catherine want's you in your white's for the wedding."

"So, I don't have a problem with that. Beside you'll be more uncomfortable wearing the tux." Steve said, smirking at Danny's glare.

...

Thursday 1000 hrs

Hilton Hotel Waikiki.

Steve crossed the hotel lobby with Danny as they made their way towards the bank of elevators. Danny pressed the call button, smiling at the young family who was already waiting there.

The mother looked towards the weapons strapped to the legs of the two men, swallowing nervously as she slowly moved in front of her two small children. Her son peered around her leg, looking at the taller of the two men. "Are you a police man?" He asked looking up at the brown haired man.

Steve looked down to see the young boy looking up at him. Crouching down so he was at eye level with the boy, he spoke to him. "Yes, we both are." He said unclipping his badge from his belt and showing it to the young boy. The boy tentatively reached out to touch the badge, tracing his finger over the letter's.

The doors opened and Steve stood up clipping his badge back onto his belt as he entered the lift. He stood back allowing the young family to press their floor number, before leaning forward and pressing the button for the fifteenth floor.

Danny leaned back against the side wall of the lift as the doors closed. "You know I can cover for you if you and Cath wanted to get away later today." Danny told him.

"Might take of in the morning. Cath's got a meeting later, something to do with table linen's." Steve told him.

Danny sniggered at that. "And you so can't get out of that."

"Actually Catherine said she didn't need me to go with her." He told Danny grinning at the look of amazement on his partner's face. "She knows I'm not interested in any of that."

"You sure that's not the reason for this morning?" Danny asked, thinking maybe Cath was pissed with Steve for not being interested in the wedding.

"Trust me Danny, Cath told me she would handle all the planning. I just need to turn up on the day." Steve explained.

"Seriously, you know how lucky you are?" Danny told him shaking his head in wonder.

"Yep. " A grinning Steve replied as the lift came to a stop on the family's floor.

...

"Max, what have we got?" Asked Steve as he spotted the medical examiner leaning over the body of a young woman.

"It appears that the deceased suffered from a heart attack. I will know more once I have examined her." Max told them.

"Anything suspicious to indicate murder?" Danny asked, pulling on gloves to search threw the woman's belonging's.

"My preliminary finding's would suggest that the deceased did in fact die of natural causes. She had a bottle of heart medication clutched in her hand." Max told him.

"Okay, let us know once you have all the result's back." Steve said watching as Danny crossed the room to speak to the officer who had been first on the scene. He pulled his cell from his pocket and hit Chin's number on speed dial. After talking for several minutes he called over to Danny. "Okay, we're out of here. Chin's just spoke to the family; she has a long history of heart problems. Seems she was born with a degenerative heart condition. Unless Max comes back with anything that points to foul play, were looking at natural causes."

...

Friday 0700 hrs

McGarrett's residence.

Steve woke slowly, rolling over to face Cath's side of the bed. She was lay on her back still fast asleep, the covers pushed down to her hips. The shirt she had pulled on last night showing her panties and a band of skin across her middle where it had ridden up as she'd slept. Placing his hand across her stomach, he smiled as he watched his hand move across her skin. Her muscle's wasn't as taught, the small bump obvious when she didn't bother to cover her stomach. Moving as carefully as he could so he didn't wake her, he slid down the bed to place a kiss on her stomach. "I hope your mom; likes the surprise I have for her." He whispered against the baby bump.

Cath came awake to the sound of Steve's voice softly talking, while he stroked her stomach. She opened her eyes, looking down at his head assuming he was perhaps on the phone, only to find him talking to her stomach. "Steve?" She said, smiling down at him when his startled eyes shot up to meet her gaze. "What are you doing?"

"I did a little research on the net, and they say that an unborn baby responds to the sound of its parents." He told her.

"Okay, let me get this straight, my BAMF fiancé is talking to my stomach, because there might be a possibility that our baby can hear him." She said, grinning when he nodded his head in conformation. "That's really sweet, so what wisdom was you impacting."

"Thought I'd start with planning a secret op for mommy." Steve explained. "We're going away for a couple of days. You won't need to pack much, just your bikini a change of clothes, and something to sleep in. Maybe a sweater for night time." He told her, moving back up the bed so he was facing her.

"Where are we going?" Cath asked, curious to know where he had in mind for them.

"Somewhere I used to go when I was a kid." He replied, not giving anything away. "We'll be out of cell range the whole time, so no interruptions, just you and me." He added.

"When do we leave?" Cath asked, eager to get going.

"As soon as you're ready to go. I got all the gear together last night while you were having that meeting."

...

FRIDAY 0900 hrs.

Two hours later saw them cutting through the waves on board the small boat that Steve had borrowed from one of Chin's uncles. Catherine was sprawled in the seat beside him her head leaning back against the seat, eyes closed as she savoured the moment. Steve glanced across at her, smiling as he watched her sigh contently.

He took a moment to study her, the bruising on her face and body a mixture of colours that marred her skin. The cuts had healed over in the last few days, allowing Cath to swim in the Ocean without the pain from the saltiness of the water. He knew her ribs were still troubling her, but she never showed it too much, and he knew not to push her about them. He was happy to see her relaxing, and that she'd never once thought to question his idea for getting away for a few days.

"This was a wonderful idea, Steve." She said, opening her eyes to look at him.

"I thought a few days away from everything, would do us some good. Something you said to me, a few months back, about every time my cell went, someone needed me." He explained.

"Steve, don't. What you do is important, I know that. I should never have said what I did to you. I know I hurt you with those words, and I'm so sorry for that." She apologised, tears threating to spill from her eyes.

"Cath, I know you understand about my need to be involved, to be there when the team needs me. I guess this past week has made me realise that sometimes, I took your understanding for granted. I always put everything else before us." He told her sincerely. "I, no we, need to make some changes for our future."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Steve McGarrett?" Cath asked with a small laugh.

"Your funny, Rollins." He replied dryly. "I don't want to screw this up, Cath. I want our family to work." He finished.

Cath smiled at him, touched by his words. She knew she needed to explain why she kept pulling away from him. "I want that too, Steve." She pulled in a deep breath before trying to explain. "I'm sorry I keep pulling away from you, I promise it's not you. I'm just finding it a little hard to get around the fact you slept with someone else."

"Catherine," He choked out.

"I can't get that image out of my head, the image of another woman in the bed you share with me." She told him on a sob, closing her eyes and swiping at the tears that spilled down her cheeks.

He pulled back on the throttle bringing the boat to a stop, as he turned to look at Cath properly. She'd wrapped her arms around herself as the tears ran down her face. He held his hands out to her, hoping that she'd allow him to comfort her. "Come here." He whispered.

Cath looked up at him, seeing the pain and the anguish on his face. She moved, throwing herself at him as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. She felt his hand slipping into her hair, as he held her head against his shoulder as she cried.

"I'm sorry, Catherine. I can't change what happened, I thought we were finished for good." He whispered against her forehead.

Cath swallowed, trying to bring her tears under control. "I don't blame you for trying to move on. I tried to do the same with Billy." She told him.

"The difference is you didn't bring Billy into our home, like I did with Lyn." He said, shouldering the blame for his action's.

Catherine pulled away from him, her hand going to his cheek. "You know all the time we were in the Navy, I never once questioned your fidelity. I always knew I could trust you to stay faithful to me. I still trust you, I know you wouldn't have slept with her if we were together at that time."

"You still can't forgive me." He said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"It's not forgiving you that's the problem, because there's nothing to forgive. The problem's me. Every time we start to get intimate in our bedroom, I see you reaching for her. I don't know how to handle that." She told him.

"Okay," He said dropping his hands from her back and moving back. "Look Catherin, if you need more time we can put the wedding back. Give us the time to work this out." He told her, giving her a way out and praying she wouldn't take it.

"God no, Steve." She panicked. "I don't want to put the wedding of, I want you. I want to marry you."

Steve let the breath out he'd been holding, relieved that Catherine didn't want to call the wedding of. "Alright, then we need to work this out." He told her giving her a small smile. "What about swapping rooms?" He asked with a grin.

Catherine snorted at that, shaking her head at him. "Yeah, like that will work when you drag me back to bed after sharing a shower."

"I don't see a problem with that." He said with a grin, wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Cath raised an eyebrow. "What about when Mary's in the house?"

"Okay, that may be a problem." He agreed.

Cath stepped forward, slipping her arms around his neck as she kissed him. "Thank you for the offer." She whispered against his lips. "But we're not swapping room's."

"Okay, then we work on it together." He told her, slipping his arms around her waist and deepening the kiss.

...

Friday 1000 hrs

Iolani Palace

Danny was working through some old case files, catching up on some paperwork when he noticed two Naval officers enter five-0's office with one of the HPD officer's assigned to the Palace's security team. The young police officer escorted them towards Danny's office knocking on his door. Danny waved him in.

"Detective William's, I'm sorry to bother you. These two officers are here to speak to Commander McGarrett." The young HPD officer explained.

"It's okay Brad I'll deal with it." He told him, dismissing him, as he stood up too great the two officer's. "I'm Steve's partner, Detective Danny William's." He said holding out his hand to shake there's.

"Commander Harmon Rabb, and Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. We're with the J.A.G office handling the Barrow's case. We need to speak with Commander McGarrett and Lieutenant Rollins." The Commander said as he shook the Detective's hand.

"I'm sorry Steve's not here. " Danny told them.

"We can wait in the Commander's office if he's out on a case." Mac said pleasantly.

"I'm afraid you'd have a very long wait. Steve's away for the weekend, he took off early this morning." Danny explained.

"What about Lieutenant Rollins, do you know her location." Rabb asked.

"Catherine's with Steve, there not due back till late Sunday afternoon." Danny said apologetically.

"How about cell number's?" Mac asked, thinking maybe a call to the two Naval officers could get them a location or a return.

"No cell service where they've gone. Steve's borrowed a boat to take them too one of the small Islands." Danny explained.

"Surely you have a way to contact him." Mac said, suspicious about the two officer's they were here to speak too.

"Yeah, I have the number for the Sat phone and no you can't have it. Steve gave me explicit instructions that I was not to contact him unless Pearl Harbour itself was being invaded." Danny said gesturing with his hands as he talked.

"They have a Sat phone?" Rabb asked.

"Yeah. Steve usually leave's his in the office; I'm not sure about Catherine's though, it's probably amongst the stuff she took on the mission with her." Danny told them.

"Look Detective William's we really need to talk to them both." Rabb insisted.

"Yeah I'm sure you do, but it's gonna have to wait till there home on Sunday. As much as I enjoy pissing of my partner, interrupting this weekend away with Catherine would be bad for my health. Now you're welcome to talk to the rest of the team about the Barrow's case, but Steve's sat number; I'm sorry but I can't give it to you." Danny told him, leaning back against the edge of his desk and crossing his arms.

"Okay. Would it be possible for us to use one of your office's, to conduct interviews with all your team?" Mac asked politely.

"Yeah that's fine. Your probably best using Steve's office, he cleared his desk before he headed out last night. I'll show you where you can set up." He told them, pushing himself of his desk and heading towards the door of his office.

Mac and Harm followed the Detective out of his office as he crossed the corridor entering the large corner office with Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett stencilled on the glass door. They both looked around the room taking in the solid wood furniture and leather chairs in front of the desk. The Naval influence was obvious with the painting of the sailing ship hung above the desk, and the display case that housed a beautiful sailing ship, as well as the model of the Enterprise and other items displayed through the room. They took in the plaques that lined one of the walls, noting one that had been granted to an I.C.E agent. Harm noticed the folded flag and medal's in the triangular display case by the door and gestured towards it, so Mac could take a look.

Danny turned noticing their gaze, "Those were Steve's dad's." He explained as he moved the laptop and file from the top of the desk, placing it in the top drawer of Steve's desk and locking it with the key that he always kept in the drawer. Danny checked it was locked before pocketing the key.

"Chin and Kono are both in court this morning giving evidence, they should be back after Lunch. Lou's doing our weekly paperwork run to HPD, he's due back any time now. We don't have any open cases at the minute, so just let us know when you're ready for us. We have a break room at the other side of the office. Oh and no feet on the desk, and only coffee is allowed in the office." Danny told them as he turned and moved towards the door.

"Thank you Detective William's. Maybe we could start with you, in about half an hour when we've got ourselves set up." Mac asked smiling at the blonde man.

"Sure, I'll be just across the hall when you need me. Just give any of us a shout if you need anything." He told them as he left the office, closing the door and heading back towards his own.

...

Friday 1200 hrs.

Deserted Island.

Catherine sighed as she stretched out on the picnic blanket that Steve had packed for her. She glanced over to her right to see him setting up their camp site. He'd insisted that she sit down and relax, he didn't need any help. Normally she'd have refused to sit back and watch, but she knew she needed to let him do this. Catherine rolled to her side propping her head on her hand to watch him as he quickly and efficiently set up camp. Catherine was enjoying watching the play of muscles in his back as he worked. He'd pulled his shirt of after they'd arrived on the Island and she couldn't help the grin on her face.

Steve felt as if he was being watched some sixth sense kicking in, he glanced around checking the beach and tree line in front of him, before turning to look over at Catherine. He smiled when he noticed the grin on her face and slowly stalked towards her, dropping down on the blanket beside her. "Hey," He said leaning in to kiss her.

Catherine slid her hand around his waist her finger's slipping under the waist band of his cargo short's as she moved her body a little closer to him. She let him deepen the kiss, his hand gliding across her back and lower to her bottom as he pulled her more fully into his body. Cath moaned into his mouth as she felt his hardness push against her core. He pulled his mouth from hers, pulling in a breath as he trailed kisses down her neck. Cath moaned as she felt his hand slide down her hip and then back up the inside of her shorts, slipping under the elastic of her panties.

Steve pulled away from Catherine's neck looking at her face, watching as he skimmed his fingers inside her panties. He grinned as he watched her biting her lip, as he felt her hips rock against him. He leaned down again, kissing her lips gently. "Do you want me to stop?" He asked willing to pull away from her if she needed him to.

"No," She told him. "I want you."

Steve growled at her admission rolling her to her back as he kissed his way down her neck and across her throat, nudging her shirt aside. He moved back up her neck, kissing her lips as he slipped his hand from her panties. He grinned against her lips as he heard her disappointed whimper from the loss of his hand against her skin. He pushed himself upright kneeling between her legs as he pulled her upright, pulling her shirt up and over her head leaving her in just her bra. Slipping his hands around her back he unclasped her bra, pulling it off and throwing it over his shoulder to join her shirt. He slid his hands down to her waist quickly un-fastening her shorts as his mouth closed over hers again.

"Catherine." He murmured against her lips, his eyes searching her face for any sign of unease.

"Don't stop," She whispered back at him her hands kneading his shoulders as he gently lowered her to the blanket covering her body with his.

...

Deserted Island...

A short time later

Steve rolled to his back pulling Catherine on top of him, his body still intimately joined with hers as he pulled air into his lungs. Catherine had her head on his shoulder, her shallow breath's blowing across his heated skin. He felt her shift her head, lifting it from his shoulder as she looked into his face. He grinned at her, lifting an unsteady hand to brush her damp hair from her face as he cupped her cheek. "I was going to feed you after I'd set up camp."

Catherine chuckled. "At least my Steak didn't get burnt this time." She told him, remembering the time they'd had steak's on the beach.

"Hey, that was your doing." He reminded her as he shifted his weight and rolled them both onto their sides. "I had every intention of feeding you." He told her leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips.

"I didn't hear any complaints." She teased, brushing her lips across his.

"You never will." He told her with a grin, rocking his hips against hers. He took her lips in a sensual kiss that left her breathless.

"Your insatiable." She told him between kisses her hand going to his shoulder to stop him. "But I need to get up." She told him as she untangled herself from his embrace.

Steve rolled to his back watching as she got up of the blanket and pulled on his discarded shirt, slipping her feet into her trainers before heading towards the tree's. He sat up reaching for his shorts to pull on before getting up to start preparing their lunch. He kept an eye on the spot where Catherine had disappeared to, relief on his face when she re-emerged a few moments later.

Catherine headed back to the camp site after her visit to the bushes. She stopped by her backpack, rummaging threw till she found her bikini. Pulling of Steve's shirt and kicking of her trainer's, she quickly donned the bikini. "I'm going for a swim." She told him, kissing him quickly on the lips and moving towards the shore.

Steve watched as she waded out till the water was at her waist before she dived under the surface, swimming a little further out into deeper water before turning parallel to the shore. She was so graceful as she cut through the water, her strokes relaxed and lazy as she swam laps. He knew she wouldn't swim for long, her body still needing more time to heal.

...

Sunday 1600 hrs

McGarrett's residence.

Steve was headed into the garage to store the camping gear, when he heard his cell phone ringing. Realising he'd left it in the glove box of the truck, he dropped the stuff in the open door way and turned to head back towards the truck, only to find Cath in the doorway talking on his phone.

"Yeah, we had a great time. It was nice to get away for a few days." She told the caller, listening intently. She smiled at Steve as she mouthed Danny. "The Island was amazing."

"I'll stow the gear while you talk." He said quietly as he headed back into the garage to stow the camping gear, Cath following him as she continued the conversation with his partner.

"This was a much better idea than Maui." She said into the phone, chuckling at something Danny said. "I'll pass you to Steve." Cath said as she passed the phone to Steve. She kissed him lightly on the cheek as she left the garage.

"Hey, Danny." Steve said as he watched Cath leave the garage.

"So, did you talk." Danny asked him.

"Yeah, we did. It wasn't anything to do with the case, it was a little closer to home." Steve told his partner.

"Everything's okay though? I mean Cath sounded like she had a good time."

"Yeah we did have a good time." Steve agreed before adding. "Seems Catherine has a few issues over Lyn."

"Right, I guess the whole you not getting any is your punishment." Danny pointed out. "She's not about to let you off the hook, yet."

"Not exactly." Steve told him as he left the garage locking the door behind him. "She understands me trying to move on, she's just having problem's dealing with the fact I had sex with Lyn in our bed." Steve told him as he walked over to the Silverado.

"She making you sleep in the spare room?" Danny asked.

"No, although I did suggest we swap rooms. I just need to give Cath a little time and space to deal with this." Steve told him, grabbing their back packs from the truck bed and closing the tailgate.

"Do you think it's worth putting the wedding on hold while you sort it out? I mean if Cath can't deal with it, your literally screwed babe." Danny pointed out.

"We're not putting the wedding off, we're both 100% sure of that." Steve told Danny ending that discussion. "How's everything at five-0?"

"We've had a quiet weekend. I think all the criminals took a vacation when they heard you was out of town." Danny teased.

"I'll have to go away more often then." Steve said with a chuckle.

"You did however get a couple of visitors on Friday. A Commander Harmon Rabb, and a Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, both from Jag." Danny told him.

"They interviewed the rest of the team yet?" Steve asked heading down the path towards the front door that Catherine had left open for him.

"Yes, they did us all on Friday afternoon. I'm assuming their lawyer's."

"Yeah, there from the Judge Advocate General's office. They deal with all aspects of Military legal proceedings." Steve explained for his partner's benefit. "They gonna be at the office tomorrow, or should we expect a visit tonight?" Steve asked as he walked in the house closing the front door behind him and dropping the packs on the couch.

"Don't know. I told them you were back late today so they might try stopping by the house later tonight, if not I'll guess they'll be in HQ tomorrow. I set them up in your office, I've locked your laptop and files in your desk drawer. Key's in my desk if you're in before me." Danny told him.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning. Mahalo." He told him ending the call, and going in search of Catherine. The Lanai door's where still locked so he knew she was still in the house, not finding her in the Kitchen he headed upstairs. Entering their bedroom, he dropped his cell and keys on the dresser as he pulled his shirt over his head heading into the en-suite.

Catherine was just slipping out of the shower as Steve entered the bathroom, pulling of his shorts and throwing his dirty clothes in the hamper. He grinned at her, his eyes racking over her body causing her breath to hitch as he stalked towards her.

Steve slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his as he leaned down to kiss her lips. "Want to join me?" He asked against her lips, nibbling down her jaw and neck.

"I've already showered." She said gasping when he sucked on her pulse point.

"I'm sure you missed a few spot's." He told her his tongue flicking out to capture a drop of water as it ran down her neck. His hands slid down to cup her bottom kneading the muscles as she slid her foot up the back of his leg.

She pulled his head down, kissing him deeply. "I was going to start on Dinner." She panted breathlessly as she broke the connection.

"Take out." He growled as he felt her hand wrap around his erection, stroking him as she kissed along his jaw and down his neck. He felt the little nip to his collar bone then a gentle kiss over his heart as she kissed, nipped and licked her way down his body till she was on her knee's in front of him. Steve groaned at the sight and sensation's she was causing in his body as she flicked her tongue across the tip of his erection.

"Mm, take out sounds good." Cath told him, watching his face as she licked her lip's before sliding him into her mouth, her tongue teasing the underside as one of her hands gently cupped him.

Steve slipped his hands into her hair cupping the back of her head as she slowly worked her mouth over him, her hand's teasing and stroking him. He withstood her ministration's a while longer before he stopped her. "Stop." He groaned, attempting to pull her from him.

Cath looked up at him through heavy lidded eyes as she let him slip from her mouth. "You sure?" She asked as she tightened her hand around him, stroking him.

Grabbing her under the arm's he pulled her to her feet and into his arms. He kissed her forcefully, his hands going to her bottom lifting her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, returning his kiss. He pulled away from her mouth gasping for breath. "Very." He told her as he moved bracing her against the wall. "Here or bedroom?" He asked her, kissing his way along her collar bone.

Cath moaned as he kissed across her skin. "Right here." She whispered still not willing to make love with Steve in their bedroom, even after their weekend together. She moaned as she felt his hand slip between her folds testing her readiness.

Steve groaned against her neck as he felt how ready she was. He teased at her opening, two fingers slipping threw her folds as she panted rolling her hips against him. Steve grinned against her skin loving the sounds she made as he pumped his fingers inside her, twisting and rubbing.

"Ow God," She gasped as his fingers rubbed across her g-spot. "Steve, inside now." She panted.

He wasted no more time, taking hold of his erection and slipping it threw her folds guiding the tip inside her. Gripping her hip's, he slowly thrust in eyes locking with here's as he watched her bite her lip, crying out when he slid all the way inside.

His first few thrusts were slow, letting them both relish the feeling of every inch of him dipping in and stretching her, making Cath whimper and moan as she felt him throbbing inside. Her fingers combed through his hair, her nails scraping at his scalp before moving to grip his shoulders as he increased the pace. His thrusts becoming more frantic, his pelvis grazing her clit.

Steve could feel the stinging of Cath's finger nail's digging into his back, as she curved her body into his. He felt her muscles tightening around him, her loud moans filling the air as her body convulsed. He buried his face against her neck, pushing deeper, growling as he emptied himself inside her.

He could feel Cath's breath fanning across his shoulder as she panted, attempting to catch her breath. He lifted his head from her neck turning to look at her his eyes locking on here's as she watched him. He kissed her softly, pulling back slightly as he brushed her damp hair from her face before cupping her cheek. "I love you, Catherine." He told her softly.

Catherine smiled at him, turning her head to place a kiss in his palm. "I love you too, Steve." she whispered, groaning as she lowered her legs to stand.

"Come on." He told her pulling her into the shower while they cleaned up.

...

Emerging from the shower a short while later, they both grabbed towel's from the rack and dried of. Steve wrapped the towel around his hips as he sauntered into the bedroom and pulled shorts and sweat pants from the dresser as he watched Cath towelling her hair dry with a towel wrapped around her body, showing of her long legs. "Danny said we've had a visit from Jag." He told her.

"Have they interviewed everyone else?" Cath asked as she walked into the bedroom pulling underwear from the drawer.

"They did everyone on Friday. Danny told them we were due back later today, so they may want to do us this evening." He said pulling on a vest top.

"Okay." She said as she pulled one of his SEAL shirts from the drawer and pulled it on before crossing to the closet and pulling out a pair of legging's and slipping them on. "Steve." She said, biting her lip uncertainly.

"Catherine, you have nothing to be scared of, okay. I'm right here, you're not going to do this alone." He told her, assuming she was nervous over the upcoming trial.

"I know you will, this isn't about Barrow." She swallowed needing to explain. "When I answered your cell, I wasn't checking up on you. I heard it ring and when I saw it was Danny I figured it might have been work." She got out on a rush looking away from him nervous about his reaction.

"Catherine, I don't have a problem with you answering my phone." He told her, finally understanding why she was nervous. He moved to stand in front of her, reaching out with his hand to lift her chin. "If it helps you deal with all this, we can go through all the contact's together." He said looking into her eyes.

She shook her head. "I don't need too. I just didn't want you thinking I was going through your phone, that I didn't trust you." She explained giving him a small smile.

"I never thought that you were Catherine." He said leaning forward and quickly planting a kiss on her lip's. "What you in the mood for?" He asked picking his phone up from the dresser and thumbing through the list of takeout place's, putting an end to the conversation.

"Thai, nothing with shell fish though." She told him as he dialled the number placing their order. He raised an eye at her, clearly confused over her food choice. "I have a list of foods to avoid because of the baby." She told him when he hung up.

"Seriously?" He asked throwing his arm around her shoulder and steering her towards the door.

...

Sunday 1700 hrs

Pearl- Hickman Joint forces base

Officer's Mess.

Mac and Harm was sat at a small table at the back of the officer's mess, going through the copious notes surrounding the Barrow's case. The reports from all the agents and police officers on the case had been extremely through, and when interviewed all had collaborated their stories again. They only had the Commander and Lieutenant's statements to take before they could begin their prosecution case against Commander Barrow and the two Sailor's that had been involved in the smuggling of weapon's and treason.

"Do we go and interview the Commander tonight, or would you prefer we do this in his office." Harm asked Mac, as he jotted down a few key point's on a legal pad.

"I'd like to get started on this as soon as possible. The Admiral clearly has SecNav breathing down his neck on this one." Mac told him closing the file she'd been going through and placing it on the pile in front of her.

"You know; I'm wondering what five-0 are hiding. I get the feeling there not telling us everything." Harm said, gathering the files together and locking them in his brief case for security.

"You too?" She questioned watching as he nodded. "I'm not sure it's the case though, it just felt like they left something out, something between McGarrett and Rollins."

"We know there in a relationship that's pretty obvious as there having a baby together." Harm pointed out.

"Maybe it's to do with the length of the relationship. Are they worried we might go after them for Fraternisation and there just trying to protect friends." Mac theorised.

"It's possible, but other than a small crossover in their service records when Commander McGarrett team's worked with Naval Intelligence, they never worked together in the same chain of command." Harm pointed out to Mac.

"I still think the five-0 team are protecting them from something. Detective Williams was very helpful in everything to do with the investigation, but when we asked for the contact detail's." Mac said trailing of.

"Yeah, he completely shot us down. I got the feeling from the rest of the team that McGarrett doesn't take off that often, and always in cell range. Except this time, he's completely of the grid." Harm said drumming his finger's on the desk.

"Well let's go see if we can find out what there hiding." Mac said pushing up from the table.

...

McGarrett residence

Sunday 1740 hrs.

Cath sat with her feet tucked underneath her as she curled in to Steve on the worn leather couch watching the film playing on the T.V. The remains of their take away scattered across the coffee table. She sighed contently as Steve wrapped his arm around her pulling her in closer planting a kiss on the top of her head.

A knock on the door alerted them to company, Steve letting out a long deep sigh realising there evening was about to be taken over by Jag. He had hoped they'd wait until the morning, give him and Catherine a few more hours of peace. Cath had moved from his embrace, sitting up and tidying there left over's up. Rising from the couch he headed towards the door to let them in.

Steve pulled the door open to see a Navy Commander and a Marine Colonel standing on his door stop. "I'm assuming Colonel MacKenzie and Commander Rabb from Jag!"

"Correct Commander, can we assume that Detective Williams informed you of our visit?" Mac asked him.

"Yeah, he phoned just after we got home. Come in." He said gesturing for them to enter his home. "Take a seat, can I get you anything?" He asked moving to the coffee table and picking up the remote to turn the T.V off.

"I'll take one of those beer's if you've got one." Harm said pointing at the bottle on the coffee table.

"Sure, Colonel can I get you one, maybe a wine?" Steve asked as he made to move towards the kitchen.

"Thank you, a wine would be great." She told him as he headed to the Kitchen.

Mac watched as the Commander left the room heading towards what she assumed was the kitchen. She glanced around the room noting what looked like the dining room near the French door's which were pulled open slightly letting in a cool breeze. The crashing of waves could be heard on the shore, making Mac realise how close to the Ocean the house must be. A noise from the direction of the Kitchen caused her to turn her head in that direction. Expecting to see the Commander entering the room, only to realise that it was a woman.

"Lieutenant Rollins." Mac said getting to her feet along with Harm. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie and this is my colleague Commander Harmon Rabb. Were both with Jag, were the prosecuting attorneys on the Barrow's trial." Mac explained shaking the woman's hand.

"Ma'am." Cath greeted returning the hand shake, before turning to the Commander. "Sir."

Harm followed suit shaking the Lieutenant's hand and indicating she should sit. "Lieutenant."

Mac was taking in the bruising on the woman's face and arms, the thick raw bruising and abrasions on her wrist's indicating some of the woman's recent ordeal. She was wearing a much to large t-shirt, obviously belonging to the Commander with the SEAL logo blazoned across the front. The Lieutenant sat down on the couch across from them, she smiled at Mac as she noticed her glance at the t-shirt.

"I've been borrowing Steve's shirt's for years." She told them with a shrug of her shoulder's.

Steve's chuckle came from the kitchen door way as he returned with the drinks. "You know Rollins that generally means you return them once in a while." He said with a grin placing the drinks on the table in front of them, and pulling a bottle of water out of his pocket and passing it to Catherine. "So your prosecuting Barrow!"

"Yes we are. We've spoken to all your team Commander, there's just yourself and the Lieutenant to interview. All of your reports are pretty conclusive, but we want to make sure we have everything that the defence might bring up. Now both myself and Commander Rabb felt that your team have left something out." Mac said going straight to the point.

"No, they told you everything. No one at five-0 would have kept anything from you with this investigation, we all want Barrow for this." Steve told them looking at the Colonel.

"They are keeping something back we both picked up on that." Harm said. "Perhaps a secret that they feel they need to keep for you?" He asked the Commander directly.

Steve shook his head telling them. "I don't have any secret's for them to keep, Commander. I can assure you none of my team kept anything from you. I can only assume that anything your picking up on might be more to do with the fact that none of them are military, they tend to think a little differently." Steve told Rabb angry at the insinuation that his team were lying.

"So they wouldn't deliberately miss something out, even if you asked them too?" Harm asked trying to clarify the Commander's statement.

"As I haven't asked them to leave anything out I think that's a moot point. My team know how much I want Barrow to pay for this, so no there not about to keep anything from you."

"Neither of us has asked them to keep anything back Sir." Cath added putting her point across as well. "The team are extremely good at their job and as unorthodox as our methods are for getting the evidence, none of them would do something that fails to get us a legal conviction."

"What about with your relationship, maybe they think you could be in trouble for Fraternisation?" Harm asked.

"No. Catherine was never under my Command at any time during our time in the Navy." Steve told them.

"Very well, I guess we'll leave that there for now. Lieutenant maybe we could start with you?" Mac asked just as Commander McGarrett's phone went.

Steve picked his phone up checking the caller id before answering it. "Sorry, I need to take this. "McGarrett." He answered, listening to the person on the other end. He stood moving in the direction of the stair's. "I'll be there in 20 min's." He said as he quickly made his way upstairs to their bedroom to change.

Cath turned to look at the two officers in front of her they were both looking up the stairs where Steve had just disappeared. "Five-0's just picked up a new case, HPD always call Steve's cell before they try anyone else." Cath explained as they both turned to look at her.

"Does that happen often?" Asked Mac.

"Pretty frequently, I've lost count of days off that have been cancelled." She told them turning towards the stairs as Steve left the bedroom. He'd changed into a pair of cargo's and a black t-shirt with a black button downed shirt over the top, the long sleeves turned up to his elbow's. He was still fastening the leg holster for his gun as he reached the bottom step. Clipping his badge onto his belt, he headed towards the coffee table grabbing the keys for the Silverado. "Don't wait up we could be a while on this." He told her and noting her raised eye brow, added. "Possible hijacking and hostage situation."

"Okay, phone if you need any help. I can run up any lead's from HQ, free up the rest of you for the field." She added as he looked as if he was going to object.

"You're supposed to be resting," He pointed out giving her one of his dis-pleasured glares. "Not staying up most of the night running recon ops on criminals."

"Come on Steve. I can rest just fine in your office, and you know that." She said glaring at him in defiance.

"I'm not gonna win this one, am I?" He said shaking his head. "Fine I'll call." He added heading for the door.

Harm and Mac looked between each of them clearly surprised at the turn in the conversation. "You usually get your own way Lieutenant?" Harm asked clearly amused.

"Sir, I know which battles I can win with Steve, it's all to do with his word choice. On a case of this scale he'll need as much help as possible to end it quickly and safely for all involved. He also knows I won't put our baby at risk just to prove a point." Cath explained. "Shall we get started on the interview?"

...

Pier 2

Sunday 1830 hrs.

Steve threw the truck into park as he pulled up to the cruise ship terminal. He spotted his team off to one side talking to the Coastguard and a Naval officer. Exiting the truck and locking it, he made his way across the tarmac towards the gathered group. "What do we know?"

A coastguard Lieutenant answered. "We received a transmission from the Hawaiian Princess an hour ago saying that gun fire had been heard on the bridge of the ship. Shortly after we lost all contact with the ship, we sent a helo to check out the ship. That helo pilot reported back saying that he'd come under fire from an RPG fired from the stern of the ship."

"Shortly after we received another transmission from the ship saying that any attempts to board the ship would result in the death of the hostages. We have visual of hostages surrounding the deck with armed gun men." The Lieutenant finished.

"Sir, do we have any team's currently on base?" Steve asked the Naval Commander looking at all available assets.

"SEAL team 6 are on base. The Brass have put them on stand down for their current assignment for the next 48 hours only. We have SEAL team 3 flying in from Coronado there already airborne." Commander Jackson informed him.

"Okay. Lieutenant can you get us the blue prints for the ship, and we'll need as much info as possible from your Helo crew. " He told them before turning towards the Commander again. "Sir, I'll need team 6 at the Palace to brief asap, and a com link with Captain Calavichie and his team."

"The Navy are happy to help in any way we can Commander, I've been authorised to give you anything you need. SEAL team 6 will be there within the hour, and I'll inform the Captain about your request for a com link." He told him.

"Thank you, Sir. I'd also like to bring Lieutenant Rollins in on this, would it be possible to get her into the operation's centre." Steve asked the Commander.

"Of course I can authorise that. I thought you'd want her on your extraction team for this?" He mentioned a little confused that McGarrett wasn't including the Lieutenant on his team.

"She's currently injured and supposed to be resting." He explained briefly to the Commander.

"Okay, tell her to report to me when she arrives on base and we'll get her set up." Jackson replied offering his hand to McGarrett to shake before leaving the area.

"Chin, I need you to get us a full passenger list we need to know what these guys are after. Why this ship?" Steve asked.

"Steve," Danny called getting his partner's attention. "The boat was being chartered by a British company called schools abroad."

"You have to be kidding me. They have a ship full of school kids, is that what you're saying." Steve said in shock, a look of horror on his face. "Please tell me there not under the age of 16." He was well aware that British children left school earlier than in America.

"Sorry, the majority of the children are between 13 and 15 years of age. We spoke to the owners of the Hawaiian Princess just before you arrived. The boat was being used for an educational trip, they started from San Francisco travelled down the coast to Los Angeles, then across to Hawaii to do the Islands. They were scheduled to visit Pearl Harbour tomorrow." Danny told him as upset as Steve himself was.

Steve swiped his hand across his face realising the enormous task they were all facing. A cruise ship full of adults would have been a hard enough task, but kids. Steve knew they would have to eliminate the hijackers and hated the fact that they would be forced to do this in front of not just innocent civilian's but children. Children who should not be forced into seeing something this barbaric or horrific. "We can't just take the hijackers out not in front of kids." He told them.

"What about dart's and Taser's?" Lou asked understanding where McGarrett was coming from.

"It wouldn't work there's still a margin for error with that. If even one of them misses its mark, we could be looking at a blood bath." Steve told him turning to look out to sea. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself before he pulled his phone from pocket and dialled Catherine. "Hi, Catherine. I need you to head to the base." He told her as she answered quickly filling her in on what he needed her to do.

...

Naval Operations centre.

Sunday 1915 hrs

Catherine had arrived at the front gate of the Pearl-Hickman base 15 minutes ago. After receiving Steve's call, she had quickly excused herself with the two Jag officer's and gone upstairs to change into one of her own tops, grabbing a sweater from the closet and heading to the base. Upon arrival she had notified the security team that she was here to see Commander Jackson. They had quickly placed a call to the Commander and she had been informed that he would meet her at the Operation's centre.

Catherine parked her car in an available space outside the building, and looked around. She smiled remembering her time spent here while still in the Navy. She missed the regimented life that the Navy had brought, she'd enjoyed the travelling as well seeing faraway places.

Catherine sighed remembering how she'd spent the last 15 months they'd been the hardest she'd had to endure. During her time in the Navy she'd always been sure that Steve would be there waiting for her when they were both on leave, but coming back from Afghanistan last year had only brought uncertainty in their relationship, then she'd left him again adding to his hurt. Catherine sighed again vowing to herself that she would never leave him again, no matter what it cost her. Making Steve happy was all that mattered.

She stepped out of her car and headed towards the building that housed the ops centre. Commander Jackson was stood outside Ops when Catherine arrived, and after a few pleasantries he escorted her into the room to get settled at one of the computer's. She'd nodded at a few of her former colleagues as she'd walked past them. Gently lowering herself into the chair she logged into the secure server to start running the data that Steve had requested.

"Hey Rollins, you okay?" asked the male Lieutenant that was seated to her right.

Catherine turned to look at him nodding her head. "Yeah I'm fine, Jonesy." She told him a small smile on her face.

"If you're sure." He said his eyes raking over her face and wrist's.

Cath took a deep breath letting it out slowly. "Yeah I'm good."

"That's some pretty serious bruising on your wrist's Cath!" Vicky pointed out from her left. "I didn't get to ask you about it at your engagement."

Cath turned to glare at Vicky at the other side of her. "I was tied up and beaten a couple of weeks back, and I really don't want to discuss it." She told them both turning back to look at the screen in front of her as she slipped her blue tooth device into her ear and dialled Steve's cell. "Hey Sailor. I'm all set what do you need."

...

Palace

2100 hrs

Steve looked around at the assembled SEAL and Five-0 team's, they had a com-link set up with SEAL team 3 as they listened to Catherine talking to them from the Naval Operations centre at Pearl. She'd sent them the Satellite imagery a short while ago, along with the names of several of the hijacker's.

"Coastguard sent over all the data and video the helo crew were able to get on the ship. I've ran some of the faces through Naval and civilian databases, and got a few hit's. I've also managed to identify the weapon's. There ours." She told him.

Steve sucked in a breath reeling from the implication's from those words. "How much went missing from them shipments, Cath."

"A lot. The Navy picked up on the missing weapon's 12 months ago. Jamerson and Cooper went through the full inventories of all the shipments from the base's at Kabul and Kandahar, and cross referenced it with what was received at Pearl-Hickman, Coronado, and Norfolk. Those were the base's that received all shipments that was sent stateside. You saw what was taken on the last shipment, that was just a small portion of the total." Cath told him. "I haven't got the figures but, of the top of my head, 16 crates of M4, 1 crate os Mk16, 5 crates of HK M27, 4 crates of MP5, 2 crates of M24, 1 crate of M39, and 6 crates of MK12 SPR's. There were about 4 crates of RPG's various models."

"Jesus that's some serious fire power." Senior Chief "Bart" Simpson pointed out.

"How the hell did they get all that?" Lieutenant Commander Mick Storm asked.

"Classified." Steve said leaving no room for questions.

"I know all you Navy boy's know exactly what Cath has just told you, but maybe someone can translate for the normal guy's here." Danny said wanting an explanation.

"A lot of those weapons are what our Special forces unit's use Danny. SEAL's, Ranger's, Delta force, Marine Recon, they also have some pretty high powered sniper rifles. Add in the RPG's, and Barrow's pretty much had enough weapon's to start a small war question is was Hesse and Elizabeth Barrow the only one's receiving those weapon's?" Steve told him.

"Yeah, here's the thing Steve. Those names I got from facial rec, they came from the British. Seems there all former P.I.R.A." Cath told him.

Steve looked around the room, glancing at Danny. "I guess we have an answer on why that ship did they say if they'd had any demands?" Steve asked Catherine.

"No, they've received no communication yet. I've sent you everything that I collected on them but I didn't get chance to run their entry points. Can you get Jerry on that and see if he can find anyone else they might have travelled with?" Cath asked.

"Chin's running through the data now and Gerry is on his way in, I'll get him on it as soon as he arrives. Cath, I need you to find out how many were dealing with." He told her.

She blew out a breath. "Yeah, that's a little bit of a problem. They've got all the passengers and crew assembled in the lounge area. The amount of heat signatures is causing a lot of problems with the imagery. We're working on it, but it's taking time." She explained.

"Keep working on it we can't attempt to go in till we know how many were dealing with. Coastguard have dropped the blue prints of we'll work out possible entry points we need to know number's." He told her.

"Working on it. Send me a copy of your entry points when you have them and I can cross reference them with imagery." She told him ending with. "Aloha."

"You know if were dealing with Hesse's people this could just be a way to get to you and Catherine." Lou pointed out.

"That's what I'm thinking and why Catherine will be staying on base till this is over." Steve told him.

"You sure that's wise pissing her of like that." Danny questioned his partner.

"Probably not, but I'll deal with the fallout from that at a later date." He said.

"Kitten has claw's smooth dog, you know that. She's gonna point out she's more than capable of being there for the take down with her training." Storm pointed out not wanting his former team mate to create problems with his woman.

"I know how capable she is and I don't doubt her skills or abilities, but the fact is Catherine is in no fit state to handle this right now. She was beaten and tortured just over a week ago and is still suffering from broken ribs. Right now, Cath's supposed to be at home with her feet up resting." Steve told him looking across the faces of his former SEAL team.

"You know we've all probably done some stupid thing's with broken ribs." Storm said trying to put his point across for Cath.

"I know for a fact Cath isn't going to want to go in with us." Steve said quietly quickly putting the subject to bed as he carried on. "We can't use a helo for a drop so were gonna have to either zodiac or swim to the ship." Steve looked at his team realising that there was no way Lou would manage the climb.

"Looks like I'll be minding the shop." Lou said already picking up on the look on Steve's face. "No way I'm climbing up the side of any ship with my knees." He told him pointedly.

Steve gave him a half smile acknowledging Lou's understanding of the situation. A team was only as strong as their weakest man, and although Lou was a valuable asset to his team this op was too much for the man to handle. Danny, Chin and Kono were all watching him waiting for him to speak. "Depending on what Catherine comes back with, our possible entry points are the anchor chain and the main deck. If we can't access the anchor room, then were looking at an 80ft climb using a rope."

The team looked at one another silently communicating, before turning to look at Steve again there answer already in their eyes. Danny spoke for them all. "Were in, definitely won't be as quick as you guy's but those kids deserve us to give it our best shot." Danny told them honestly.

"Mahalo guy's." Steve told them.

"I have a little background information on the company that's chartered the boat. Nothing standing out they run educational holidays, and have been doing so for at least 30 years. There was an incident in 1988 were a boat was sunk, but nothing to with the company and certainly nothing since then." Chin told them flicking bits of information on the screen.

"Wait, did you say 1988?" Captain "Hammer" Calavichie asked via video link from the transport plane.

"Yes. The ship was struck whilst leaving port." Chin said bringing up the information.

"You no something?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, not relevant to the hijacking though, my wife was one of the passenger's. The Jupiter was just leaving Piraeus harbour when an Italian cargo ship the Adige was entering, it tore a hole 15ft x 39ft in the port side. Within 40 mins she was under water she went stern first and took the lives of 4 people, a teacher, 13-year-old girl and 2 Greek fishermen." Hammer told the assembled group who were completely silent, a shocked look on their faces.

"You know I can't imagine having to live threw that at such a young age." Steve said with total empathy.

"You know the way my wife tells it she says the only reason that they all survived was because they WERE so young. She said that because of their ages, they were used to orders from the teachers and moving in a crowded environment without pushing, shoving or causing hurt to fellow class mates. She always say's no one panicked and that the teachers completely took control of the situation. She has quite a few stories, lots of acts of bravery from kids and teachers alike." Hammer shared with them all.

"They were the same age as the kids on the Princess, right?" Steve asked, and at Hammer's confirming nod he added. "That might be a point in our favour. If these kids react the same way they should be calm and controlled enough when we go in."

"We can only hope so." Lou said taking a deep breath and wanting to be at home giving his kids a hug and making sure they were tucked up in bed.

The sound of the door opening caused them all to look up suddenly, the SEAL team raising their eyes in surprise as a large man in board shorts, a loud Hawaiian shirt and flip flops entered the bullpen. He made his way towards the smart table where everyone was stood.

"Cath's sent over some files I need you to track down the where, when and how they got on the Island and who with. We've got support from the Navy so right now Cath's over at Pearl, call her if you need to use any of her contacts." Steve outlined quickly explaining what he needed from Jerry. "You go directly through Catherine and Jerry Classified means exactly that it does not mean it's a conspiracy." Steve pointed out attempting to get Jerry under control.

"Gotcha." He said before opening his mouth again. "You know this would be quicker if I was up here and not in the basement. I can use your office." He told Steve.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine in your own office, Jerry. I'm going to need mine." He told him watching as Gerry nodded and took the flash drive that Chin handed him and left the office.

The two SEAL teams looked back and forth between themselves, confused about the sanity of the man who had just left. Storm broke the silence first. "He's five-0?"

The five-0 team chuckled between themselves, a series of different answers coming from there mouth's. " 'No, Not really, Kinda, Definitely not.' "

"Jerry is more of a consultant for five-0, he's a little unusual but he's good at what he does." Chin explained diplomatically.

"Unfortunately Jerry seems to think that most things are a conspiracy which is why I need him going through Catherine. She knows how to deal with Jerry." Steve told them.

"He also has a thing for her." Danny added grinning at Steve. "I don't think finding her underwear in your dryer helped with that."

"You finished?" Asked Steve a little annoyed with his partner. "Or would you like to discuss with the team about Grace finding Amber in your kitchen."

"I want to hear that one." Lou chuckled.

"I'm done." Danny said not wanting to here Lou's take of the situation.

SEAL team 6 was grinning at the banter between Steve and Danny. Mick chuckled grinning at Steve as his friend turned to look at him. "Maybe we should share how Catherine came to receive a SEAL team nickname Smooth Dog?"

Five-0 watched as Steve dropped his head onto the smart table and groaned. SEAL team 6 laughing at their boss's obvious discomfort.

Danny was laughing with them enjoying his partner's embarrassment. "Yes you definitely need to share." He said watching as Steve's head wiped around to glare at him.

"No they don't." He told him his voice firm.

"Too late smooth dog. This is something that needs to be shared with your team." Mick told him turning to look at the five-0 team. "During water drills several years ago we spent a lot of time being dropped into a very cold ocean and having to swim a couple miles to get to the dive boat. The last time took a little longer than the instructor liked, so he dragged our sorry ass's to the base infirmary." Mick told them.

"Doctor told us to strip and get into the beds. When we didn't start stripping quick enough the very pretty nurse's stepped forward to assist." Bart added with a grin.

"Yep, there we were the pride of the Navy and completely unable to get our clothes of." Mick said once again taking over the story. "Well the nurse that was helping Smooth Dog get his shirt of let out a gasp when she got a good luck at his back."

"Definitely wasn't the new ink that caught her attention." Bart said chuckling at Steve his head still on the smart table.

"We all had a pretty good look after that. He had some pretty impressive scratches down his back, looked like he'd been used as a scratching post and let's not forget the bite mark on his shoulder." Mick said grinning at Steve who had straightened to his full height and was currently glaring at him. "Someone had a pretty interesting shore leave."

"Takes a lot to take down a SEAL." Smirked Bart.

"And by the weaker sex." Mick continued earning a glare from Kono and a few choice words.

"You know that's pretty damn sexist Cath and I can hold our own with you guys." Kono said really angry with the last comment.

"Our apologies we know kitten is bloody good at what she does." Mick said quickly apologising to her. "There was certainly no disrespect intended."

Steve spoke up directing his words to Kono. "The only reason Cath went into Naval intelligence was because she knew the SEAL's wouldn't take her because she was a woman. She knows as much as any of the SEAL's currently present, Kono."

"Her SERE training might not have been as bad as ours, but reading between the lines on what Smooth dog couldn't tell us, I'd say she came pretty close." Mick said watching the way Steve clenched his jaw and closed his eyes to banish the image. "Back then Steve used to call her Cat a lot, and well after that we started to call her kitten."

"We need to get back on track here." Steve said attempting to bring everyone's mind back on to the hostage situation.

...

Naval Operation's Centre

Sunday 2300 hrs

Cath sat up straighter in her seat attempting to stretch the kinks out of her back from sitting hunched over the screen in front of her for the past few hours. She rubbed at her neck attempting to ease some of the tension wincing as she took a deep breath and her ribs made their self-known.

"You okay?" Vicky asked looking at her in concern.

"Yeah. A couple of broken ribs, just a little tender." Cath explained grinning at her former colleague. "We went camping for the weekend. I didn't get a whole lot of rest."

Vicky chuckled at that. "You know the novelties supposed to wear of once you get his ring on your finger."

"Yeah like that's going to happen." Cath said with a smile.

"You start talking about how hot he is Rollins and I'm gonna puke." Jones said from her other side. "Us guy's say anything like that and we get called." He complained.

Cath snorted at that, chuckling as a thought came to mind of a conversation she'd once had with one of her former Academy bunk mates. "What can I say Jonesy, I like a guy who's ripped." She told him with an evil grin on her face.

Vicky chuckled at that watching Jonesy acting as if he was throwing up. "Can't say I blame you Cath. I might have been married to Brian for 10 years but I ain't dead, your guy is definitely hot."

"Okay please can you not say any more. I do not want to know ever." He said shaking his head and shuddering at the thoughts running threw his head.

Vicky and Cath chuckled together bumping fists. "You put Brian and me on the list, we'll be there ain't gonna miss your wedding." She told her.

"Same for Mel and me. She's already telling me she needs to shop for an outfit." Jonesy told them earning another chuckle from the 2 women.

"Thanks guy's. Full dress white's for the ceremony Jonesy, but feel free to change for the reception." Cath told them with a smile her eyes going back to the screen in front of her.

"How did you get lover boy to agree to full dress whites?" Vicky said glancing across at Cath as she tapped a few commands into the keyboard in front of her.

"I told him I wanted him to wear his whites he didn't need any convincing." She told her glancing over her shoulder with a grin.

"Lover boy's whipped." She laughed.

"Nah, he just prefers whites over a tux." Cath explained distractedly noticing something with the satellite imagery and reaching for her phone, hitting Steve on speed dial.

"Hey, Cath." Steve said in greeting when he answered.

"Steve, I've managed to isolate the hijackers from the kids. We're looking at atleast 20 people; they have set up roving deck patrol's in 2's. There's just 1 in the lounge with the passengers." She told him.

" Are we still locking okay for the anchor?" He asked her over the phone.

"No one in either forward or starboard anchor. There concentrating their patrols on the upper decks. All decks below the water are clear, except for 4 people in the engine room. I'm assuming a 3-man crew there moving fairly frequently between duty station's, 4th person never moves but I'd assume from his positioning he has a full view of the engine room." Cath outlined for him, "I'm sending the imagery now."

"Keep an eye on their routes and time's. Team 3 are 60 mins out were a go 0200 hrs." Steve told her.

"Aye, aye." Cath confirmed as Steve ended the call.

...

Monday 0220 hrs

Oahu, 15 miles of shore

Hammer brought the small zodiac into the side of the Hawaiian Princess's hull, as Smooth dog took hold of the anchor chain and began the climb up the slippery metal closely followed by the rest of SEAL team 6. Once at the top of the chain they quickly slipped through the opening taking up defensive positions around the room. Bart secured a rope around one of the chain's links before tossing it out the opening for team 3. Shortly after Bart felt a distinct tug on the rope, and with the aid of smooth dog he quickly dragged the rope back inside.

Steve grabbed at the hand he saw appear on the edge of the opening, and quickly pulled Danny through the opening and helped him to remove the rope around his waist. Bart tossed the rope out of the opening again, repeating the process as Chin and Kono made their way onto the ship. Once the members of Five-0 were on board, SEAL team 3 quickly made the climb up the anchor chain readying weapon's as they waited for ops to get a lock on their position and check the video feeds from all their cam's.

"Corridor is clear." Cath said threw their ear wigs as she watched the feed from the satellite and their cam's.

The three teams paired up into two man teams as they left the anchor room, making their way towards the hostages. The eight teams silently approached the stairwells that would lead them to the upper decks, Catherine's voice guiding them along the deserted corridors towards outer deck, engine room and lounge area where the hijackers were holding their hostages.

"Team Alpha and Beta target's moving your way, 15 ft. port side stairwell." Cath told them receiving taps of confirmation from Steve's and Mick's mic's.

Steve indicated to Danny to hold back, hugging the darkness along the wall as they waited for their target to approach. Mick and Chin were doing the same on the opposite side of the stairwell. The two hijackers left the stairwell as Steve and Mick grabbed them both in a choke hold, squeezing on their windpipes until they both passed out. They lowered them carefully to the floor as Danny and chin stepped forward quickly securing their hands and feet with cable ties, and duct taping the mouths to keep them quiet if they woke up. The 4 of them dragged the two prisoners into one of the cabin's securing the door behind them, before entering the stairwell and heading upwards.

"Team Echo and Foxtrot targets passing by hatch in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, clear." Cath told them receiving taps of confirmation from the two teams.

Bart, Kono, and 2 other SEALs from team 6 stood either side of hatch waiting till the targets had passed. Bart opened the hatch the four of them slipping outside onto the deck taking down the two targets.

"Charlie, Delta, Golf, Hotel, you're clear to go." Cath told them receiving the customary taps of confirmation as they moved through the ship. Cath watched as Charlie team entered the engine room and quickly took down the hijacker there.

"Engine room clear. Packages secure. " The Lieutenant reported as he checked for a pulse on the hijacker they'd just shot. "Confirm kill." He stated.

"Copy that Charlie team. Confirmed kill." Cath replied. She watched as the other 7 teams moved across the deck neutralising the tango's. Alpha and Beta teams broke away from the deck heading towards the lounge to neutralise their final target and secure the rest of the ship.

"I have a visual on the target." Kono told them.

"Do you have a clear shot?" Steve asked her.

"Yes, I have a clear shot." Kono told him via the com link.

"Take the shot." Steve told her listening for the tell-tale shot to ring out. He heard screaming as the shot rang out.

"Target is down." Kono replied, Five-0 and the SEAL's entering the Lounge and securing the area. Danny quickly began speaking attempting to calm the frightened teenager's.

Hammer moved to the fallen tango checking for a pulse. "Confirm kill." He said into his mic before he turned to Steve and spoke. "Damn she's good."

Steve grinned at him, "Why else would I have her on my team." He said with a shake of the head before clicking his mic to speak to Cath. "Cath send the helo for pick up."

"Chopper is on route. E.T.A 10 min's" She told him. "Max and a medical team are on-board."

"Thanks'. Why don't you head home Lou and Jerry can take over from here?" He suggested to her. He could hear the tiredness in her voice.

"I will very shortly. I just want to make sure the hijackers are dealt with and off the ship before I head home." Cath told him.

"Okay make sure you do. We're securing the weapon's and munition's. I have Mick cataloguing everything, we'll send you the list once we're done" Steve told her.

...

Naval Operations centre

Pearl 0220 hrs

The operation centre was a busy hive of activity as everyone watched the large screen at the front of the room as the 2 SEAL teams and the Five-0 team approached the hull of the Hawaiian Princess. Catherine was busy taking note of the three teams as they made their way up the anchor chain and onto the ship. Steve had been the first one to climb the chain Cath holding her breath till he was safely on-board followed by the rest of SEAL team 6. She'd watched as they'd thrown a rope down, assisting Danny, Chin and Kono with the climb. Once all the insertion team were on board they'd quickly split into two man teams.

"Corridor is clear." Cath told them over the coms channel as she watched the satellite feed.

The eight teams left the anchor room as they silently approached the stairwells that would lead them to the upper decks as she guided them along the deserted corridors towards the outer deck, engine room and lounge area where the hijackers were holding their hostages.

"Team Alpha and Beta targets are moving your way, 15 feet port side stairwell." Cath told them receiving taps of static in confirmation from Steve and Storm.

Catherine watched as Steve, Danny, Mick and Chin flattened themselves against the wall as they waited for the targets to leave the stairwell. She watched as they silently took them down in a choke hold, Danny and Chin then stepping forward to help tie them up. The 4 of them dragging the two prisoners into one of the cabin's and securing the door behind them.

Cath was watching the corridor that lead to the outside hatch on the starboard side. "Team Echo and Foxtrot targets passing by the hatch in 5,4,3,2,1, clear." She told them receiving a tap of static in confirmation from the two teams. Cath watched as the four of them waited till there targets had moved past the hatch before they slipped outside onto the deck, taking down there two targets. They quickly secured them dragging them off the deck and back into the corridor.

Catherine quickly checked the satellite feed on her screen making sure the corridors that led to the engine room was still clear. The guard was still in the same position that he'd been in for the past four hours the crew still moving amongst the equipment keeping the ship powered. She spoke into her head set giving them the go ahead. "Charlie, Delta, Golf, Hotel you're clear to go." She announced receiving their confirmation taps threw her head set.

"Engine room clear. Packages secure." The Captain reported as he checked for a pulse on the hijacker they'd just shot. "Confirm Kill." He stated.

"Copy that Charlie team, Confirmed Kill." Cath replied watching as the 7 other teams moved across the deck neutralising the tango's. Alpha and Beta teams broke away from the deck heading in the direction of the lounge. There was only one tango left now this one had surrounded himself with the children teachers and crew.

Cath heard Kono's voice come threw her headset and Cath glanced to the large screen in front of her. "I have visual on the target.

"Do you have a clear shot." Cath heard Steve ask her.

"Yes, I have a clear shot." Kono replied her voice clear and sure via the com link.

"Take the shot." Steve said over the com link shortly before Cath heard the tell-tale shot ring out. She watched as the tango dropped to the ground the sounds of screaming coming from the panicked passengers.

Kono's voice came threw her headset again. "Target is down." Cath watched on the video feed as Five-0 and the SEAL's entered the Lounge securing the area. Danny very quickly began speaking attempting to calm the frightened teenager's.

Catherine watched as Hammer moved to the fallen tango checking for a pulse. "Confirm Kill." She heard him say into his mic before he spoke again. "Damn she's good." A glance to the screen confirmed he was addressing Steve who was grinning back at him.

"Why else would I have her on my team." He said pride clearly evident in his tone. "Cath send the helo for pick up."

"Chopper is on route. E.T.A 10 min's. Max and a medical team are on board." She told him tiredness creeping into her voice now it was all over.

"Thanks'. Why don't you head home Lou and Jerry can take over from here?" He said with concern.

"I will very shortly. I just want to make sure the hijackers are dealt with and off the ship before I head home." She told him.

"Okay make sure you do. We're securing the weapon's and munition's; I have Mick cataloguing everything. We'll send you the list once we're done." Steve said.

"Thanks'." Cath said.

...

McGarrett's residence

Monday 0600 hrs

Steve slowly made his way up the stairs to his bedroom pushing the door open a crack he slipped stealthily into the room closing the door softly behind him. Catherine was sprawled across the bed his pillow clutched tightly in one hand as she buried her face into the mattress. Her clothes were on the floor in a heap obviously hastily tossed aside in her need for sleep. He watched her for a few minutes his eyes raking over her naked body under the thin sheet as she slept.

Opening his bedside draw he dropped his gun and badge into it before closing the draw and putting his phone in the charging dock. Bending down to pick up her clothing he spotted Catherine's cell phone under the bed. Dropping down to his knee he reached out to retrieve it just as it rang. He quickly checked the caller I.D, seeing her father. Steve glanced at Catherine still sleeping soundly and made the decision to take the call himself. Slipping into the bathroom he answered the call.

"Hey kiddo." Cath's father said before Steve had chance to speak.

"It's Steve, Sir." He explained.

"Is there a reason your answering my daughter's phone, Son?" Patrick Rollins asked.

"Yes, Sir. Catherine's sleeping I'd prefer not to wake her up just yet. She only got home a couple hours ago." Steve told him.

"What was my little girl doing out till the early hours of the morning when she's supposed to be resting? Your supposed to be taking care of my daughter." Patrick told him.

"We've just been dealing with a big hijacking case, Sir. It was a joint Five-0 and Navy operation. Catherine has been helping from the operations centre." Steve outlined. "I've only just got home myself when you called."

"Alright, son. You go get cleaned up and get some rest. Tell Catherine I'll call again later this afternoon." Patrick said.

"I'll pass that along to her, Sir. Thank you." Steve told Patrick as he disconnected the call.

Steve put the cell phone down on the counter as he quickly stripped off and climbed into the shower. Turning the water to hot he soaped up scrubbing his face clean from the black cammo paint that he'd used for the insertion onto the ship. He rinsed off then bracing his hands against the wall he allowed the water to beat down on his shoulders the heat seeping into his tired muscles. The sound of the door opening brought his head up just as Cath stepped into the shower her arms slipping around his waist as she plastered her chest to his back.

"I thought I heard you talking." Cath said as she kissed down his back nipping at his shoulder blades.

"I was. Your cell rang just as I got home it was your dad." He told her moaning as her hands slid up his chest, scratching his skin with her nail's.

"Do I need to call him back or can it wait." She purred into his ear.

"It'll wait." He told her as he turned around pulling her under the spray as his mouth crashed down on hers.

Catherine moaned, her hands sliding around his neck as she kissed him back. She pulled her mouth from his gasping to draw breath into her lungs. "Bedroom." She panted as he kissed his way down her neck.

"You sure?" He asked as he kissed her neck.

"Yes." She said giggling as he swung her up into his arms and exited the shower. He quickly moved them to the bedroom laying her across there bed as he followed her down to the mattress. "Steve, I'm wet." She said on a laugh.

He grinned as he kissed along her neck sucking on her ear lobe before whispering in her ear, his voice a low rumble. "I like you wet."

...

Breaking News...

"Good morning, Honolulu. We're here at Pearl Harbour where the Hawaiian Princess docked this morning after her hijacking ordeal. The ordeal of the 500 passenger's mostly children aged between 13 and 15 years of age, ended early this morning when Hawaii's own Five-0 task force lead by Commander McGarrett and aided by a Navy SEAL team stormed the ship.

The cruise ship had been chartered by an English company, Schools Abroad for an educational vacation for around 500 children. The luxury liner left the Port of San Francisco seven days ago visiting Los Angeles before crossing to Hawaii and visiting the Islands. They were scheduled to visit Pearl Harbour today, for a visit to the Arizona memorial and a tour of the Missouri before leaving for the airport tomorrow morning for their return flights to the U.K.

We have been informed that the Navy flew a small crew out to the ship, to help bring the ship into the harbour. It's unclear yet if today's scheduled tour of Pearl Harbour will still go ahead. We are awaiting a response from Commander McGarrett on how the siege came to a close, we will bring you more on this story as it unfolds. Keep watching for updates as they happen. This is Kaylani Taylor reporting for NXBC News."

...

McGarrett's Residence.

Monday 1030 hrs.

Catherine was plastered across Steve who was softly snoring beneath her. Her head was cushioned on his shoulder listening to his heart beating as she dozed lightly. A faint ringing noise sounded in the room rousing Steve from his sleep as he flung his hand out to his bedside table looking for his phone. When he finally found it, he checked the caller I.D, groaning when he saw it was the Governor.

"McGarrett." He said in greeting as he answered the call. He listened for a few minutes. "Yes, Sir. I'll inform all of Five-0." He said before ending the call and dropping the phone on the bed.

"Steve?" Cath asked sleepily lifting her head to look at him.

"The Governor wants to see everyone he's giving a press conference." He told her giving her a quick kiss before slipping out of the bed and heading for the bathroom.

...

Governor's Mansion

Monday 1300 hrs

Two hours later saw all the Five-0 team assembled outside the Governor's Mansion while Governor Denning gave his press conference. They had all arrived a little over two hours ago and briefed the Governor on the hostage situation. The Governor had then thrown Steve and Catherine a bit of a curve ball when he had commented on Cath's return to the task force.

"Commander, can I assume that Lieutenant Rollins is back on five-0's payroll." He'd asked looking between the two of them for confirmation.

Steve had opened and closed his mouth a couple of times nothing coming out at first. "We haven't discussed it yet, Sir." He told the Governor glancing at Cath from the corner of his eye.

"Well you should of, Commander. Lieutenant, consider yourself re-hired by five-0." Denning said.

"Sir, I think that's something that Commander McGarrett and I need to discuss first." Catherine told the Governor, when he turned to stare at her she added. "I'm pregnant and have no wish to put our child at risk."

"Congratulations on the baby but I'd suggest you come up with a solution with regards to five-0." Denning's told them ending the conversation. "Press conference starts in ten minutes. Commander, I expect you to be available for question's."

"Yes, Sir." Steve said watching as the Governor rose from behind his desk and moved towards the door.

Sam Denning took the podium in front of the assembled reporters glancing around at everyone present before he began to speak. "At 2 o'clock this morning a joint Five-0 and Naval SEAL team lead by Commander McGarrett was able to board the Hawaiian Princess, and quickly and safely brought a close to the hostage situation. All of the 558 passengers and crew are accounted for and most importantly, unharmed. I'm sure everyone will understand that this has been an extremely traumatic time for the passengers, crew and families of all those involved. We ask that the press be considerate of this and allow the victims and their families some privacy to deal with their ordeal.

The Navy has currently closed Pearl Harbour off to all non-essential personnel. They have arranged with the School Abroad program to continue the pre-arranged tours that were originally scheduled for today. All the schools involved believe it's the best course of action for all involved. No reporters or civilian's will be allowed onto the base at this time. Both the Navy and the State of Hawaii would like to thank you for your co-operation in this matter. I'll pass you along to Commander McGarrett for any further question's. Mahalo." He said stepping back from the podium as Commander McGarrett stepped forward.

"I'm sure you all have question's so I'll do my best to answer what I can." Steve told them indicating to one of the reporters in the crowd.

"David Binder from The Hawaiian News. Commander do we have any information on the group that hijacked the ship, are we looking at a terrorist threat?" He asked pointing his recorder in the direction of the podium.

"There's no known terrorist threat. The hijackers are all of Irish decent and from the U.K we are currently Liaising with the British to see if there is any potential threat." Steve told him again indicating someone else.

"Kaylani Taylor reporting for NXBC News. The Governor indicated that there was a SEAL team present when you stormed the ship can you give us more information on the men, was there any injuries or casualties."

"I'm sorry Ms Taylor but I can't give out any information on active duty SEAL's. The safety of those men and their families can be put at risk from information like that. But I can tell you that there were no casualties, the rescue operation went off completely as planned. Next question." He said once again pointing to the assembled reporters.

"Jenna Kalika from ABC News. Can you tell us if Lieutenant Rollins is back with five-0, she's been absent for the past year I believe? What about her where a bout's and reason's for being back?" Jenna asked.

Steve raised an eye brow at her question. "Ms Kalika, if you have a question about the hostage situation I'd be pleased to answer it. However, I don't believe that what Lieutenant Rollins has been doing for the past year is any of your business."

"But is the Lieutenant back on five-0. Is your recent engagement anything to do with her return?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Rollins is currently working with five-0, but no our recent engagement is not the reason behind that. The Lieutenant is a fully trained in recon, surveillance, risk assessment and protection services. She has seen active duty and believe me when I say she's more than capable of handling herself in any combat situation. That's the only reason that she's a member of this task force." Steve outlined not giving her any more room for question's regarding his relationship with Catherine. "Next." He called and so it continued for a while longer.

...

The end for now.


	3. Chapter 3

Saturday 1000hrs

Forever Boutique

Catherine pushed the door open to the Forever Boutique, allowing Kono, Mary and Grace to step in before her. A pleasant looking woman in her late 50's approached them, a smile on her face as she greeted them.

"Hello, welcome to Forever Boutique, I'm Dorothy. How can I help you?" She said warmly.

"Catherine Rollins, I have an appointment to try on dresses." Catherine said in introduction.

"Of course, you're our bride having the Navy wedding. I have you booked in with Carla, she's picked several dresses for you to start with already, but we like our brides to pick a few as well. Carla has picked out some lovely ball gowns for you to try, lots of bling so you're not out done by the groom. We want you to shine on your day; you want to be the one all the guests are looking at, not your new husband in his uniform. Most of our Navy brides go for a ball gown, the whole fairy tale image." Dorothy told her as she led them to the back of the Boutique.

"Dorothy, I'm not just marrying a naval officer, I'm also one myself. I do not want a fairy tale dress; I want a simple classy dress that I'm comfortable in. Maybe a Grecian or mermaid style." Catherine told her.

"Oh I see. We'll get a few more dresses picked out for you then." The older women said giving Catherine a smile, as she beckoned younger women over. "Carla, this is Miss Rollins. We need to help her pick out a few more gowns, if you could start with our Mermaid and Grecian style's."

"Of course, if you'd follow me, we can get started." Carla said, leaving Kono, Mary and Grace to get comfortable.

20 minutes later Catherine was looking at herself in the mirror, not liking the dress at all. The assistant had suggested she try on one of the ball gowns first, so she could completely rule out the style. This was the first one she had tried, and she knew it defiantly wasn't right for her; it had a large frilly skirt with lots of tulle ruffles and a bodice that was completely covered in diamante and crystal beading. Catherine felt like she'd stepped out of one of Joan's story books.

At the suggestion from the assistant she slowly moved out of the changing room, stepping onto the small platform in front of the full length mirror. She frowned at the image, slowly turning round glancing at the back of the dress, before turning to look at her friends. "I hate it." Cath told the assembled group.

"So not you, Sistah." Kono said, grinning at Catherine who looked uncomfortable in the big frilly monstrosity.

"You look a little silly, Auntie Cath." Grace said.

Catherine had her hands on her hips, looking down at the white tulle frills that stuck out from the bottom of the dress making her look and feel ridiculous. She sighed, pulling a face, as Mary spoke.

"Yeah, I can just imagine Steve's face when he sees you in that." Mary said with a grin, as she snapped a quick photo of Cath with her phone.

"Don't even think about sending him that picture, Mary." Cath said making an attempt to grab the phone from her future sister-in-law.

"Aw come on Cath, don't you think he'd want to see you in that dress." Mary teased, as she sent the photo, and a small message. "Go try on one of the ones you picked."

"I'm so getting you back for that." Cath lifted up the front of the dress, returning to the dressing room to change into the next dress. The assistant helped Cath to remove the dress, and hooped underskirt before she slipped the other dress over her head and fastened the zip. Cath smiled at the image, turning slightly to see the back of the dress in the mirror.

This one she had picked out herself, it was a simple Grecian style dress in white chiffon. A light spattering of crystals across the pleated bodice and a band of beading around the waist. The cowl back of the dress just resting on her waist, leaving her entire back completely bare. She stepped out of the dressing room, and onto the small platform in front of Mary, Kono and Grace.

The three women were completely silent, just looking at her. Mary had tears in her eyes, as she whispered her next words. "Wow."

"This is the one." Cath said, tears springing to her eyes. She couldn't keep her eyes of the dress as she looked at the mirror.

"Wow, wait till the boss gets a look at you in that. Your gonna knock him of his feet, Sistah." Kono said, grinning at Cath.

"What do you think Gracie? Do you think Uncle Steve will like this one?" Cath asked the young girl.

"I think Uncle Steve is going to love you in that dress Auntie Cath. You look very pretty." Grace told her Aunt in an excited voice.

"You look sensational, Cath. I can't wait to see my brother's face when he sees you in that dress." Mary told her sincerely, as she stood and approached Catherine. She leant forward to pull Cath into a hug, whispering in her ear. "I'm sure he'll be imaging how quick he can get you out of it."

Catherine chuckled, returning the hug. "Thanks' Mary, for everything." She said, then saying more quietly. "I promise I won't hurt Steve again." Mary didn't answer; she just squeezed Cath a little harder, before they pulled back.

"Can I try you with a veil and a tiara; we have some very simple one's that would look lovely with this dress." Carla said.

"No, thank you. I'm not wearing a Tiara or a veil." Catherine told Carla. She had already spoken of her decision with Steve, and he'd agreed with her reasoning. Cath felt that after spending so long in Afghanistan where women were forced to cover their heads in public, she wanted to make the decision not to for their wedding.

"Okay, then how about we get you into some of the other dresses just to make sure." Carla suggested.

Kono shook her head. "Cath's dress has already picked her; you know that as soon as you put it on for the first time. No amount of dresses will alter that fact."

"Kono's right. I don't need to try on any more." Cath told the assistant, smiling at her friends. "Okay, let me get out of this, and then we can get you guys sorted." Cath told them heading back towards the changing room.

"Cath," Mary called, waiting till she turned to look at her. "I'm buying the dress. No argument's, this is my gift for you joining our crazy family."

...

Two hours later saw the four of them sitting at one of the benches outside Kamekona's shrimp truck, eating lunch. Cath had sent a quick text to Steve as they'd left the boutique, telling him there plans for lunch. He'd texted back, 'We'll meet you there, see you in 20 minutes.'

Catherine heard the distinctive sound of Danny's Camaro pulling into the parking lot, a look towards Steve's truck, confirmed it. Steve was unstrapping a squirming Joan from the car seat in the back of the vehicle as Danny took the diaper bag from the trunk. The two of them crossed to the bench, Steve handing over his niece to her mother as he took a seat beside Catherine.

"Hey," He said, giving her a quick kiss. "Loved the photo, looked like one of Joan's princesses." He told her with a smirk on his face.

"Give me the phone," She said, holding out her hand. "Come on Steve, hand it over."

He shook his head, still grinning at her. He quickly grabbed her hand as she made to pull his cell from the pocket of his jeans. "Oh no you don't. Too late anyway, I've already sent the picture to Julia and Trisha."

"You didn't?" She said, watching his face, realizing he had in fact sent the photo to her two Navy friends. "Oh my god, you did. I'm going to kill your sister for taking that picture."

Steve chuckled at her, enjoying the easy banter they shared. "That obviously wasn't the dress for you, but did you find THE DRESS." He asked, as he placed his hand over hers, giving it a quick squeeze.

"Yes I found my dress." She told him, a huge grin on her face.

"You're not allowed to know about the dress, Uncle Steve." Grace quickly admonished. "It's bad luck."

"Yes Uncle Steve, you're not allowed to interrogate your bride. It's classified information." Danny teased.

"Way above your pay grade, Sailor." Cath added in a teasing tone. "This is one op; you don't get read in on for another 2 weeks." She added, giving him a quick kiss.

"When we first got there, the lady in the shop was trying to talk Auntie Cath into all these princess dresses. The lady said that she needed a big dress so everyone would be looking at her and not you in your uniform, Uncle Steve." Grace told him.

"Yes well I told her I didn't want anything like that. I wanted something a little less fussy and I wanted to be comfortable, seeing as I'll be in it all day." Cath added.

Steve smiled at her. "Cath, you could be wearing your cammies and you'd still look sensational to me." He told her, there friends coming out with joint ahh's.

"Very smooth Commander." Cath teased with a smile.

"I do have a reputation to keep, Lieutenant." He told her with a grin.

...

Iolani Palace

Monday 0900 hrs.

Catherine walked into five-0 with Steve, at her insistence they had both driven their own vehicles into work. Steve had finally agreed with her after 10 minutes of disagreeing that it did make sense for them to travel separately. Cath had no wish to be stuck at the Palace if he got stuck on a case that kept him occupied for the whole day.

They had spent most of the previous week hashing out her new employment status with five-0. Steve had been glad that Catherine was happy to stay in the office for the most part, not wanting to put herself in danger because of the pregnancy. They had included the other 4 members of the team in the discussion, Catherine not wanting anyone to think she was getting preferential treatment.

Thankfully none of the team had a problem with her staying in the office; they'd all agreed it was a safer place for her during her pregnancy. Cath would visit crime scenes with them, and follow up on leads from the safety of the office; under no circumstances would she be bringing in any criminals or witnesses. Steve had suggested that she not be present in the interrogation room at first, till she pointed out that she could save them all valuable time in the field. The other 4 team members had quickly backed her up on that point.

So now she was ready to start back at work. She'd been given the smaller office at the side of Steve's, her old larger office had been given to Lou and although he'd offered to swap with her, Cath had refused. She liked the idea of being next to Steve's, and he'd made the suggestion to have a door fitted between the 2 offices once the baby was born, it would work out easier for all concerned. They would be able to place a porta crib in one of their offices, and with the connecting door, both would be able to attend to the baby. They both new that they would on occasion need to take the baby into work with them.

Catherine had just set her bag down on her desk, when Danny popped his head round the door, a mug in his hand. "Hey, you settling back in okay?" He asked propping himself on the edge of her desk, as he handed her the mug. "It's decaf."

"Thanks' Danny," She said taking the mug from his hand. "Feels like I never left." She explained with a smile.

"Except for the smaller office," He pointed out.

"Hey, it's fine. I know Lou offered to swap, but I really do prefer this one. Steve and I are planning on having a door between our offices' once the baby arrives. We'll be able to put a porta crib in one of our offices, and we can come and go between them." Cath explained.

"It's good to see the happiness back in Steve's face." Danny told her, watching for a reaction.

"I'm not going anywhere, Danny. I promise you I'm staying for good, my only concern from here on out is making Steve happy." She told him, honestly. "I know how badly I've hurt him in the past, I never should have stayed in Afghanistan and I never should have lied about the mission. I know you have no reason to believe me after my actions of the past year, but I love Steve so much." Cath said, tears in her eyes.

"I know you love him, Catherine, no one who has ever seen the 2 of you together would ever doubt that. But you have to stop hurting him; you know everyone who he has ever loved has lied to him and left him." Danny told her, trying to keep his voice low so there team mates wouldn't here there conversation. "You can't do that to him again; you'd be taking too much from him."

"I'd never take his baby from him, Danny." Catherine told him, understanding where Danny's words and feelings were coming from. "When I left, I didn't know if Steve would ever be able to forgive me for what I did to him. Then I found out about the baby, and I guess part of me saw it as a second chance. I'd have his baby even if I couldn't have his love."

Danny nodded his head, understanding Cath's sentiment. "I know he told you about dating." At Cath's nod he continued. "Forgive him Cath."

"He's told you?" She asked.

"Yes, he's told me a little bit. Obviously he didn't tell me everything; there are some things I don't want to know. I mean neither of us do the locker room talk." Danny said, hoping she wouldn't think Steve talked about their sex life.

"It's not about forgiveness, Danny. I don't blame him for trying to move on." Cath said with a sad smile. "The problem is in my head, Steve understands that. It's something we're working on together." Catherine explained.

"You're jealous." Danny reasoned.

"A little." She said giving him a small smile. She didn't say anything else, as Steve chose that minute to walk into her office.

"Do I have something to be Jealous about; you never bring me a coffee in my office." He teased as he pushed open the door.

"I don't know, what do you think Cath. You want to trade this animal in for someone better looking?" He said with a grin, puffing out his chest.

Cath laughed shaking her head at their antics. "Not a chance, I'm keeping this one." She said smiling warmly at Steve. "Now out, the pair of you so I can get some work done. Wouldn't want my Boss thinking I was skiving."

Danny laughed as he rose from the desk and left her office, leaving the two of them alone. Steve glanced quickly behind him to make sure no one was looking, before pulling Catherine closer and giving her a quick kiss, leaving her slightly breathless when he pulled back. "Welcome back." He whispered against her lips.

"Mmm, I like your welcome better than Danny's." She told him with a grin.

"Good." He said simply, a silly grin on his face, as he turned and left her office.

Catherine watched his retreating back, as he left her office and slipped into his own. She moved her bag into the bottom drawer of her desk, and picked up the files that the team had left on her desk for her. Cath being the newest team member, even though she'd been five-0 before, she had been given the rookie tasks. Opening the first file she began reading threw it.

...

Iolani Palace

Monday 1055 hrs.

The ringing of the phone dragged Steve's attention from the file in front of him. He picked the receiver up, not recognizing the caller I.D only the Virginia area code. "McGarrett." He said into his office phone.

"Commander McGarrett, this is Lieutenant Singer with the Jag office. I'm calling on behalf of Colonel Mackenzie and Commander Rabb in regards to the Barrow trial." The female Lieutenant said over the line.

"What can I do for you Lieutenant?" He asked, as he glanced across to Cath's office. He could see her threw the partially closed blind's, as she worked through the files in front of her. She looked up, scanning around her office before her eyes caught him watching her. She smiled at him before returning to work.

"Sir, I've been instructed to notify you and your team about the hearing. It's scheduled for a week next Monday, the 18th of the month, to be held at Jag." The Lieutenant notified him very efficiently.

"I'm sorry, but did you say it's being held on the 18th, and at Jag, as if Falls church, Virginia." He enquired, needing clarification.

"Yes Sir. Is there a problem?" Lieutenant Singer asked.

"I'm afraid so. Lieutenant Rollins and I are unavailable from the 17th till the 1st May and there is no way all my team can be present for a trial in Virginia. We have to have at least 2 people on the Island at any given time" Steve told her.

"Ooh I see is it possible for Lieutenant Rollins and yourself to change your plans." She asked.

"That's a definite no, Lieutenant. Are either the Colonel or Commander available for me to speak to?" Steve asked, feeling the need to sort out these issues directly.

"Colonel Mackenzie is in her office, I'll patch you threw, if you'll hold one minute."

Steve was put on hold while the Lieutenant contacted the Colonel about his call, a few minutes later the call was picked up by the Colonel.

"Commander. Lieutenant Singer informs me we have a problem regarding the case." Mac said getting striate to the point.

"Yes, Ma'am we do. As I explained to the Lieutenant, five -0 has to have two people available on the Island at all times, and Cath and I are unavailable for a couple of weeks." Steve explained.

"We will need all your team present during the trial, especially Lieutenant Rollins and yourself. The NCIS team has already been notified and confirmed. Would you mind telling me why you're unavailable?" Mac enquired.

"Cath and I get married on the 16th; we'll be on our honeymoon for a couple of weeks." Steve told her, once again glancing at Catherine in her office.

"Okay, I'll speak to the Admiral; see what solution we can come up with. As the Lieutenant's testimony is of vital importance to the case, we should be able to move the date without a problem. Commander Rabb and I will speak to Commander Barrow's council; see if there is a possibility for moving the location." Mac suggested.

"Would a word from Governor Denning, be helpful in getting the location moved to Pearl?" Steve asked.

"Actually, yes. That could definitely work in our favor. If the Governor can put a request in threw SecNav in regards to the safety and security of Hawaii, then that should be sufficient enough to change the location. I'll put a call into the Governor, and see if we can get started on that." Mac said, already making plans in her head.

"Actually, that might work out a lot quicker if I contact the Governor. I have a direct line, he pretty much answer's when I call without having to go through his secretary." Steve pointed out, wanting to help as much as he could. "If were getting the location moved to Oahu, are we talking the base or another location?" He asked.

"We should be able to set something up at Pearl-Hickman. It's a secure enough location in regards to Prisoner transport. If you can start with a call to the Governor, while I speak with the Admiral and my colleagues over the dates and location." Mac said.

"I can get on that immediately Colonel." He told her; ready to call the Governor as soon as he could end his call with her.

"I'll get back to you as soon as possible with the details, Commander." Mac told him.

"Thank you." He said, ending the call and dialing the Governor. The call was answered promptly, and he quickly outlined the reason for his call. The Governor promised him he would speak to SecNav and push for an Oahu trial. Having all members of Five-0 away from the Island at once was not an option for the Governor.

A short time later, he ended his call, replacing the receiver and standing. He made his way out of his office, tapping on Cath's office door, gesturing for her to join him in his office. He spotted Lou, coming down the corridor, coffee in hand. "Tell Chin and Kono I need to speak to them." He said as he rapped on Danny's door and gestured back to his own.

"Sure." Lou answered, moving back down the corridor towards Chin and Kono's offices.

"What's going on?" Cath asked as she followed him into his office.

"Just wait for the others, and I'll explain." Steve told her.

"Hey, what's going on? We catch a case?" Danny asked as he strolled into Steve's office, along with everyone else. They all dropped down onto the couch and into the chairs in the room.

"No. I've just spoke to Colonel Mackenzie, there setting a date for the hearing. I'm waiting for her getting back to me; she's trying to get the case moved to Pearl-Hickman. They wanted to do it at Jag, but there does no way all of us can be off the Island at the same time." Steve explained.

"Your saying, Jag, but where's' that?" Danny asked in confusion.

"Falls Church, Virginia." Cath told him. "Have they given an indication on an actual date?" Cath asked Steve.

"That's why I'm waiting on her getting back to me. They had originally come up with the 18th." He said, looking at Cath. "I've just spoken to the Governor; he's going to call SecNav and push for an Oahu hearing."

"Do we need to change our plans?" Cath asked him, biting her lip in anticipation.

"Nope. I've already told Colonel Mackenzie were unavailable, that's why she's going to get back to me. "He told Cath.

"Your still not going to tell me, are you?" She questioned, watching as he grinned at her.

"Nope, it's classified information. The only equipment you need to pack for this op is clothes and your passport, and don't forget you Dramamine." He told her with a smug grin.

"You know I hate secrets, right." She pointed out, sighing in frustration.

"I know you do. It is somewhere we've been before, though." He told her smug grin still in place.

"You know damn well that doesn't narrow it down, Steve. Between us we've got the whole world map covered." She exclaimed, as their team mates laughed.

...

JAG headquarters, Falls church, Virginia.

"Colonel perhaps you could explain your reason for requesting this meeting." Admiral A.J Chegwidden asked as his officer's made themselves comfortable in his office.

"Yes Sir. I had Lieutenant Singer contact Commander MacGarrett in regards to the Barrows hearing. Lieutenant Rollins and the Commander are unavailable for the date we set, there away from the 17th till the 1st. The other issue was having all his team off the Island together, the Governor won't allow it." Mac explained to the Admiral and her fellow Jag officers.

"Can they not alter their vacation plans?" Commander Vulkovic asked, unhappy at the turn of events. "

"I doubt the Commander would want to, they get married on the 16th. I did a little digging at Pearl, there getting married at the Chapel on base, scuttlebutt is there having a big reception at the Hilton Waikiki Beach in the evening." Mac told them.

"Well I'd guess under the circumstances we can work around there wedding plans. You said something about the Governor not allowing all of them to travel, Colonel." A.J. said leaning back in his chair.

"Yes Sir, that's correct. When I spoke to the Commander, he insisted that two members of his team had to be available on the Island at all times. From what Commander Rabb and I witnessed when we interviewed the Five-0 members, they each take turns in being on call during there out of office hours. Commander MacGarrett is usually the first person the Honolulu police department calls; we witnessed that during our first interview with the Lieutenant." Mac explained.

"We'd barely sat down to discuss their statement's when the Commanders phone went, and he disappeared to change. He re-appeared a few minutes later, telling the Lieutenant not to wait up he'd be a while. The Lieutenant informed us it was a pretty frequent occurrence." Harm added.

"About half an hour after that the Lieutenant took a call from the Commander, telling her he needed her to head to the Naval Operations center on base." Mac said, before adding. "It was a high profile case, and the Navy and Coastguard had offered full assistance with Five-0." When it looked like Bud would question her.

"The Hawaiian Princess high jacking?" A.J. concluded, as Mac nodded her head in confirmation.

"Yes Sir. Commander McGarrett was going to contact the Governor after he ended our phone conversation. The Commander is insisting on the hearing being held at Pearl, so all his team will be present on the Island." Mac told the Admiral.

"Can we not go forward without all his team giving evidence? It is a highly irregular request, Admiral." Commander Volkovic pushed.

"It may be, Commander, however if the Governor of Hawaii does get involved in this, then we will have very little choice in the matter. It's pretty obvious that the Five-0 task force deals with the most high profile cases on the Island. The hijacking of the Hawaiian Princess was all over the media, the people of Hawaii expect the Five-0 task force to protect them from people like this." A.J. pointed out to his people. "Colonel, get back onto the Commander and arrange a suitable date, as close to our current one as possible. Notify the M.P's office that we'll be requiring a prisoner transport to Hawaii for Commander Barrow, then contact Pearl and get everything set up."

"Yes, Sir." Mac said, ready to get to work.

"Dismissed." He said, watching as they all rose, and saluted before leaving his office.

...

Iolani Palace

The members of Five-0 were busy laughing at some of the stories that Catherine and Steve were sharing about their shore leave's when they had both been in the Navy. Danny had started the stories by asking Catherine about some of the countries that she'd visited with Steve.

"You remember the time we had leave in Naples?" Cath asked him, watching the grin form on his face.

"I remember you getting pretty wasted with one of your ship mates, before I arrived at the hotel." Steve told her. "I believe Johnston was drowning her sorrow's after catching her boyfriend in bed with a prostitute, in there hotel room."

"Yeah, definitely a messy situation." Cath greed.

"You know most guys would of considered that a dream come true?" He said smirking at Cath.

"What getting puked on when you got in bed?" Cath teased. Steve shook his head, as their team mates began chuckling.

"Seriously, you threw up on the animal, Cath?" Danny asked grinning at his partner's amused look.

"Actually it was Beth who threw up on Steve, not me." Cath explained.

"No way, you was in the wrong room?" Kono said laughing at the boss.

"No, he was in our room. I'd brought Beth back with me to sleep it off, because she had nowhere to stay and couldn't go back to the ship in that state. Steve didn't get in till 0200 hrs. It was dark in the room, and he didn't know Beth was asleep on his side of the bed." Cath explained to them.

"I'd only sat down to unlace my boots when Johnson bolted up and puked. Like I said it would have been most guy's dreams, 2 women in your bed." He said smirking at Cath, who shook her head, smiling at him.

"Yes well, Steve being the perfect Officer and a Gentleman ended up spending the first 24 hours of his 72 hrs leave sleeping on the floor, till Beth had sobered up enough to get herself back to ship safely Explained Catherine to the team, as she smiled back at Steve.

Steve was about to respond when his office phone rang. Picking it up he answered, "McGarrett."

"Commander, its Colonel Mackenzie. I've spoken with Admiral Chegwidden and Commander Barrow's counsel. We can move the date to the 4th if that suitable. Commander Rabb is arranging Prisoner transport for the Commander as we speak." Mac informed him.

"The 4th is fine Colonel, and it's going ahead for Pearl?" Asked, Steve as he watched Cath nervously chewing on her bottom lip.

"Yes, we've reschedule it for Pearl." Answered Mac.

"Mahalo, I appreciate that." He said in thanks.

"You're welcome Commander. We'll need to go over a few details before the hearing starts, with all of your team, but that can wait until Commander Rabb and I are on Oahu." Outlined Mac. "If you'll excuse me, I'm due in court shortly."

"Of course, and thank you again." Steve said ending the call and turning to look at his team. "All set for Pearl on the 4th. They apparently want to go over a few details with all of us beforehand, but they'll do it once there back on the Island.

"They indicate what they wanted?" Asked Lou from his position on the couch.

"No." Steve said with a shake of their head, before looking at Cath and having a silent conversation. "Look, when they came to interview Cath and me, they got the impression that you were keeping something back." He said glancing round the room to look at everyone.

"What, you think we'd lie to them, that's ridiculous." Ranted Danny waving his hands around as he stood and paced the office.

Steve not wanting to here Danny in full rant brought it to a close as quickly as he could. "No I don't. I know you guy's and I told Mackenzie and Rabb the same thing, you wouldn't lie to make a conviction stick."

"Okay, then what are you asking." Lou asked him.

"They thought you were covering something up for Steve and me. They suggested that maybe you thought we'd be in trouble for breaking the frat regs." Replied Cath quietly.

Steve saw Danny was going to ask, and quickly explained. "Fraternization regulations, Danny. If Catherine and I had been in the same chain of command when we started seeing each other we'd of been court martialed for conduct unbecoming."

Danny, Chin, Kono and Lou all looked back and forth between each other, shaking their heads in denial. "Nope, never crossed our minds." Danny said on behalf of them all.

Cath looked at Steve, an idea forming in her mind. "What about if you was trying to protect Steve from me finding out about him dating?" She asked, watching them all look away from her. "Guess we have an answer."

Steve looked at her, remorse on his face as he caught the look of hurt on her face. They might have made a lot of headway in their relationship the past week, but the subject of Lynn was still a raw wound for Cath. Steve looked over at Danny, "I'd already told you that Cath knew." He said a little confused.

"I didn't think you'd want them knowing about that conversation we had." Danny said a little defensively.

Chin, Lou and Kono were busy looking back and forth between Danny and Steve, clearly not understanding the cryptic conversation the two men were having. Cath was watching Steve, her eyes locking with his as they had a silent conversation. Steve sighed nodding his head at her in agreement.

"There's a few issues that we've been working on." Steve told them, carefully choosing his words. "Cath was being a little distant and wouldn't talk about it with me."

"Steve thought it might be PTSD." Cath told them quietly, as Steve pulled in a deep breath. The team turning to look at her, worry on their faces. "It's not, I'm fine." Cath quickly reassured.

"That was the reason for us getting away for a few days, give us chance to talk." Steve added, continuing. "It was a little more personal."

"You need to forgive him for cheating?" Lou asked, grasping the conversation at last.

"No." Cath denied instantly. "That would imply that I thought Steve had cheated, which I know he never would. This is just something I need to work out myself." She explained more fully as Lou, Chin and Kono turned to look at her in concern.

"This isn't something we want everyone to know, which is why we haven't said anything before now." Steve said, trying to bring the conversation to a close. "We're working it out together." He finished.

...

Club Tiki, Waikiki

Monday 1250 hrs.

"Duke what do we know about the victim?" Steve asked the Hawaiian officer as he approached the crime scene with his team.

"Michelle Elliot, Driver's license for the mainland and a hotel key card for the Paradise inn, Waikiki in her wallet. Money, cards and cell phone still in her purse." Duke told them as he lifted the crime scene tape enough for them to duck underneath.

"Hey Max, what can you tell us." Steve asked as he approached.

"Commander." He greeted before gesturing to the victim." As you can see our victim's clothing is ripped and torn, she has defensive wounds on her hands, and bruising to her neck, indicating she was strangled. There are also signs indicating that she had intercourse shortly before her death, and bruising and scratches on her legs would suggest this was not consensual." He said.

Danny was pulling on gloves as he approached the victim, dropping down to take a look at the contents of her purse. Pulling her wallet out he started to flick threw it, noting the money and driving license, but not finding any bank cards. Dropping the wallet back into the bag, he began checking the inside pocket, quickly finding a Naval I.D card inside. He was just about to call Steve when he heard Cath's voice.

"Guy's she's a Navy Ensign." Cath told them as she took a closer look at the woman's face.

"You're sure?" Steve asked, looking at Cath.

"Yeah, she's a radar operator on the enterprise." Cath told him.

"I've got her Navy I.D." Danny said passing it to Steve. "Do we pass this onto NCIS?" He asked.

"Not yet. Max, can you get a rush on the tests, we might not have long before NCIS get involved and pull us from the case." He asked him.

"Of course, I will notify you when I have something." Max told him as he began preparing the body for transport. "Commander you should see this, Max said pushing the victims top aside to get a better look at the burn mark on her breast bone. "There is also this brand on her breast bone."

"What is that, some kind of a bird?" Lou said trying to get a better look at the mark over Max's shoulder.

"It's a Budweiser." Cath said, as she got her first good look at it, before Steve crouched down beside her to take a better look himself.

"A what?" Danny asked.

"A Budweiser. It depicts an eagle in flight, Poseidon's pitch fork in one Talan and a stylized gun in the other. It symbolizes sea, air and land. Looks like our guy could be a SEAL." Steve told them pushing himself back to his feet.

Steve heard the other members of their team suck in a breath as he'd delivered that piece of news. "Lou, you and Kono show her photo round in the club, and the local shops, see if she was in any of them. Chin pull all the camera feeds from the club and the local areas." He told them before turning to Cath and Danny. "The three of us are heading to the base."

"Ok," Cath said as they headed back to both there vehicles. Cath unlocked her Corvette, sliding behind the wheel as Steve reached the side of her car.

"Cath, I know we said no chasing up leads in the field." He began, Catherine quickly cutting him of.

"I'll be fine, Steve. It makes more sense for me to go with you, her bunk mates will open up to me easier than they would to Danny, and I know you'll want to speak to her C.O." Cath concluded with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, find out if she was dating anyone; keep it to yourself about the Budweiser, for now. If the guy is a SEAL I'd rather not spook him yet. You know I've also realized that Danny might get a little lost navigating the carrier." He said with a small grin, as he stood back and closed her door, listening to her chuckle.

"I'll see you at the Pearl." She said gunning the engine and reversing out of the parking spot.

...

Danny's car.

1330 hrs.

"I thought we all agreed that it was safer for Cath in the office?" Danny quizzed his partner as Steve moved the Camaro threw the light traffic as he made his way towards Pearl Harbor. Danny glanced across at Steve, just as he looked across at him, a grin on his face.

"Yes we did, but Cath will be fine onboard. Elliot was stationed onboard the Enterprise, that mean's all the people she was close too, as well as her C.O. will be onboard ship. I'll need to speak to the Captain and her C.O. If I sent you to interview her colleagues and bunk mates you'd end up getting lost, not to mention they probably wouldn't talk to you." Steve explained.

"I would not get lost," Danny defended, ready to start a rant with his partner.

"Danny, naval vessels are complicated to get around if you don't know how they work. You have to go up a deck sometimes to go down two decks, or starboard two corridors before you can go to port. The decks, corridors and compartments are all listed across each bulk head and you have to know the designation for each and every one of them to be able to navigate your way through the ship. Cath knows the Enterprise like the back of her hand, add in the fact a lot of the crew know her from her time onboard and it's a sound decision." Steve explained, defending his actions.

"I'm not questioning your actions. I just wondered why you were so okay with Cath being out in the field on this one." Danny said looking out the window as Steve slowed the car as they approached the security gate that lead onto the base. He spotted Catherine's car in front of them, the guard quickly waving her threw after checking her I.D.

"Because this case is looking like a rape and the people I'm asking Cath to speak to are all women, that isn't going to put her in any danger." He said, winding the window down and presenting his I.D and base pass. "Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, and Detective Danny Williams, Five-0." He introduced to the young Marine Lieutenant that was on guard duty.

"That's fine, Sir. You can go on threw." He said handing back the I.D.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Thanked Steve as he took his I.D back, slipping his wallet back into his pocket as he drove onto base, heading for the slip where the Enterprise would be docked. "I've told Cath not to say anything about the suspect possibly being a SEAL; I'd rather not spook him yet."

"You know usually when we see a victim that's been branded, it's gang's, the mob or the yakuza related. I mean what sort of a person brands someone after raping and strangling them." Danny said shaking his head. "Do you believe he could be a SEAL?" Danny asked turning to look at his partner.

"Truthfully, Danny?" Asked Steve as he glanced across at his Danny, who nodded back at him. Steve returned his eyes to the road as he answered. "I don't want to believe that any SEAL who made it through buds, and pledged to defend his country no matter what the cost to himself, could brutally rape and murder a fellow Sailor." Steve spat out in disgust.

"I know it goes against your code of ethics, babe." Danny said for once not willing to push Steve into an argument.

"Yeah, it does." Steve agreed as he pulled the Camaro into a parking spot beside Cath's blue Corvette.

...

Pearl Harbor

USS ENTERPRISE

Monday 1400 hrs.

The three of them showed there I.D's before being allowed onto the ship, and quickly heading towards the Bridge. Steve and Catherine moving confidently threw the ship, as Danny followed behind them. They moved aside several times to allow sailors to pass them, as crew members busied themselves going about their duties. Steve glanced across at Catherine, a wistful look on her face. "You home sick?" He teased her with a friendly smile.

"A little." She admitted, returning his smile just as they entered the bridge.

"Captain Dexter?" Steve called as he approached the ship's C.O.

"Commander McGarrett." Captain Dexter smiled as he turned round, holding out his hand to shake. "Good to see you again."

"You too, Sir. This is my partner, Detective Danny Williams and you know Lieutenant Rollins." Steve introduced them.

"Detective, Lieutenant." He greeted, shaking hands with them both. "What can I do for Five-0?" He asked, beckoning to his second in command, Commander Paulson to join them.

"Ensign Michelle Elliot was found dead a couple of hours ago, Sir." Steve announced getting strait to the point.

"Elliot?" Paulson exclaimed. "She's one of our radar officer's; can you tell us what happened?" He asked.

"Our M.E still has to run tests and do a more complete examination, but his preliminary findings suggest she was brutally raped and beaten before being strangled." Steve told them both.

"Good Lord, the poor woman." Exclaimed the Captain, slightly shocked by the news. "Paulson, pull the Ensign's file for the Commander. I assume you'll want to speak to her fellow bunk mates and colleagues?" He asked Steve.

"Yes Sir, if you wouldn't mind. I'd also like Lieutenant Rollins to go through her bunk and locker?" Steve mentioned nodding his thanks to Commander Paulson has he handed him a sheet of paper with the Ensign's compartment number on it.

"Of course, if you think it will help in any way." Agreed Captain Dexter nodding his thanks to a young Petty Officer who approached, handing him a clipboard, and dismissing the young man. "I'm happy for Five-0 to investigate her death, but I'd suggest running it by our AFLOT, Agent Wheaton." He told McGarrett.

"Of course, Sir. I'll speak to the Agent myself." Steve agreed easily.

"I'm sorry who?" Danny asked in confusion at the name.

"AFLOT is what we call the NCIS Agent a float. Every Naval vessel has one, it's so we have an independent investigator onboard to ensure no crime has been committed while we're at sea. Each vessel also carries a jag officer, who can instigate a hearing if they deem any naval law or criminal act has been violated." Steve explained for his partner.

"Okay." Danny said simply, not prepared to insult Steve or Cath buy saying anymore. If they had been alone then he would have called his partner out on it, but insulting him it in front of the Captain and the rest of the crew would not be fair. He had no intention of belittling Steve and Cath in this environment.

Steve was released that Danny had allowed the subject to drop so quickly, and he quickly moved the conversation back to the case. "Danny why don't you head to her quarters with Cath, get started with the search. I'll go see the AFLOT and then speak to her C.O." He told them.

"Fine, Cath lead the way because according to my annoying partner, I'll get lost otherwise." He joked as they moved of the bridge heading into the bowels of the ship.

"He usually like that?" Commander Paulson asked, watching the blonde Detective as he followed Lieutenant Rollins of the bridge.

"Oh, no. You have him on a good day, he's usually much worse than that." Steve told the Commander with a grin, as he held his hand out to both the Captain and the Commander. "Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure, I'm only sorry that we need to." The Captain said.

...

ENTERPRISE.

Ensign Elliot's quarters.

Danny had closely followed Catherine as she'd led him threw the ship, down several decks and corridors till they had reached their destination. Cath had explained the serious of numbers and letters over each of the bulkheads as they had passed them, attempting to explain the rather complicated way of navigating the narrow steel corridors. She'd explained the reasons for all the bulkhead doors they'd passed through, which didn't make him feel a whole lot safer.

Danny was ready to admit he never would have found his way to the Ensign's quarters by himself. He sighed in relief when Cath announced they were at their destination. A steel grey door in front of them with several names stenciled on it below the number.

"This is it." Cath announced as she rapped on the door, just in case the woman's bunk mates were of duty and sleeping.

"Okay, why are we knocking when she's in the morgue?" Danny questioned.

"Depending on the size of her quarters there could be between four and six women sharing. If her fellow bunk mates are of duty they could be sleeping." Cath explained, just before someone opened the door, looking a little rumpled from sleep.

"Sorry to disturb you Ensign, but we need to search Elliot's, bunk and locker." Cath told them as the woman moved aside to allow them to enter. "Catherine Rollins and Danny William's, Five-0."

"Ensign Cookson, ma'am." She snapped to attention as she recognized Catherine, before asking. "Is she in some kind of trouble?"

"I'm afraid she was found dead earlier today, were you close?" Catherine asked her gently.

"Yes ma'am we've been friends since the academy. Are you sure it's Michelle, I mean maybe there's some kind of mistake." The woman said grasping at straws.

"I'm afraid not." Cath said gently as she encouraged the woman to sit on one of the lower bunks. "Which is Michelle's bunk?" Catherine asked as Danny moved to search her locker.

"This one, ma'am." She said patting the one they were sitting on. "What about Max, was he with her?" The Ensign asked.

"She was alone, is Max her boyfriend?" Catherine was curious as to who the man might be.

"Yeah, they'd only been going out properly for a couple of months. They met on board last year, he was just about to deploy for some mission, but he still asked for her number. Gave her some corny line about giving him something worth fighting for. Michelle thought that was so romantic, so she wrote her number on a slip of paper with a little note and slipped it into his BDU's.

"I didn't think he'd call her, but Michelle she was adamant he would. He called her a few months later, and they started seeing each other shortly after that. It's been a bit long distance, but he seems nice. They were supposed to be spending most of the week together while she's on shore leave. He booked a room at the Paradise Inn, Waikiki for them. Michelle was going to check them in yesterday and Max was meeting her today when he got of duty. "She told them, tears running down her cheeks.

"Do you know Max's full name and where he's stationed?" Cath asked.

"Yeah. Ensign Max Robinson, he's in one of the SEAL team's, I'm sorry but I don't know which." Cookson apologized.

"That's okay, you're doing great." Catherine praised. "What about nicknames, maybe Michelle mentioned some of Max's team mates in conversations?"

"I'm not sure. I think they might still be onboard; they were doing water drills earlier this week. Michelle managed to have some meals with him in mess, think she met him in the fantail a few times too. "Cookson replied with a small smile, knowing the Lieutenant would understand. "Is that any help?"

"That's a great help." Catherine told her with a smile, as she slipped her phone from her pocket to call Steve. She looked across at Danny who had finished searching the locker, and was currently interested in Cath's conversation. "Hey, Elliot has been dating a SEAL by the name of Ensign Max Robinson, we don't have a team as yet, but it's possible they could still be onboard. Do you want us to head down to the training room?" Cath asked knowing that would most likely be the best place to find them.

"I'll meet you down there; wait till I get there before you enter." Steve told her, concern in his voice.

"Okay, see you down there." She said, disconnecting the call and looking at Danny. "Steve's meeting us outside the training room."

"Why the training room, you know something?" Asked Danny as they moved towards the door.

"The best place to find a SEAL team onboard ship, the training room." Cath explained as they made their way back through the corridors of the ship till they came to a stairwell going down.

"Hey what's with the whole mess and fantail thing she told you about? I saw that little grin on your face; it's similar to super-SEAL's smug grin." Danny commented as they walked.

"The only place to get any privacy onboard ship while still being in public with a member of the opposite sex is the fantail. Steve and I have spent plenty of time there together, and when our shifts matched, meals together in the officers mess. When we're in uniform we have certain standards to adhere too." She explained. "It's just a little further down this corridor.

...

Steve thanked the AFLOT for his assistance as he left the NCIS office and headed down towards the training room. His conversation with her C.O and the AFLOT agent hadn't yielded anything useful. The NCIS agent had been happy for Five-0 to do the investigation as long as they would keep him informed of any updates. Steve had happily agreed to the request and assured the agent he would catch the Ensign's killer.

As Steve approached the training room, he couldn't see Danny and Cath stood in the corridor waiting for him. He assumed they were still making their way through the ship till he heard Cath's voice come from inside. He swore to himself, angry that she'd disregarded him. If there guy really was a SEAL, putting her in harm's way wasn't an option for him. He quickened his pace towards the open doorway, stepping threw.

He stopped as he caught sight of the SEAL team gathered around Cath and Danny. Steve grinned as he realized it was team 6. "You know I distinctly remember saying wait till I got here." He said moving more fully into the room.

Cath smiled sweetly at him. "Yes, and we would of if it we hadn't discovered it was team 6."

"Hey Smooth Dog," Mick greeted bumping fists with him.

"Mick." He replied. "Cath explained why we're here?"

"Only just arrived. We'll let you fill us in." Mick said, leaning back against the bulk head to listen.

"We're investigating a murder of a young Navy Ensign; our suspect could be a SEAL, from what Cath has discovered from the bunkmate, her boyfriend is a SEAL." Steve quickly explained.

"Her bunkmate said he's just finished doing water drill's this week." Cath pointed out, watching as the SEAL's caught on to her words.

"Got to be 'Nemo' you're interested in then. He's the only one hot and heavy with a girlfriend at the minute." Bart said, from his seat on the weight bench.

"Nemo!" Danny exclaimed.

Everyone chuckled at Danny. "He's our newest tadpole, hasn't earned himself a cool nickname yet. So he gets the title 'Little Nemo'." Mick explained.

"He's totally smitten with the chick, can't see him wanting to harm her. They were spending the week together, apparently wanted to make up for missing Valentine's Day with her." Bart told them. "The kids been raised a SEAL, his old man's one of us."

"Still doesn't mean that he didn't." Danny pointed out. "A lot of murders are crimes of passion; a heated argument can quickly turn to something else."

"And yet Rachel never thought to shoot you." Steve teased, as his partner glared at him.

"I'd be more worried with Cath." Danny snarked back at him. "Ramboette is just as lethal as you."

"We don't do heated arguments." Steve smirked, as Catherine grinned at him.

"Oh definitely not. Steve gets that out of his system with you, Danny." Cath grinned.

"You know you two are not funny." Danny said with a huff turning to look at Mick. "Do you know were Ensign Robinson is?"

"No. He was meeting her at the hotel today that's all we know. I signed off on his leave, he's not due back till Thursday, and we sail Friday." He told Danny directly before turning to Steve. "Can't say more than that."

Steve nodded his head in understanding. His old team was shipping out on a mission. "We'll try and get this wrapped up before then. How much of a problem will it be if we have to pull him?" He asked, hoping this wouldn't cause a problem with the case. The Navy could quite easily get NCIS to work the case to free up Collins for the mission.

"Won't be a problem. 'Nemo's' just along for experience." Mick told him with an easy smile.

"Thanks'. You hear from him, call me." Steve insisted grabbing Mick's outstretched hand and thumbing him on the back.

"I hear you, Smooth Dog. I don't think it's him, but I'll call." Mick readily agreed. "See you in a couple of weeks."

"We better." Cath said, stepping into Mick's arms to give him a hug. "Stay safe." She said as she pulled back.

"Count on it Kitten." Mick said with a smile, holding his hand out to Danny. "Detective, good to see you again."

"You too." Danny shook the offered hand, returning the smile.

...

Paradise Inn, Waikiki

1600 hrs.

Chin and Kono were going through the room when they heard the sound of the lock disengaging. Drawing there weapons they waited for the person to open the door. "Sorry I'm late, baby." They heard as a large bunch of flowers appeared in the open door way.

"Ensign Robinson?" Kono asked, her weapon still pointed in the direction of the flowers. "Chin ho Kelly and Kono Kaluakoa, Five-0."

The flowers lowered and a young brown haired man with the bluest of eyes stared back at her. He was in his early 20's, dressed in a pair of black jeans and white tight fitting t-shirt that showed of a set of muscles that rivaled McGarrett's. He took in the gun in her hand, glancing across at Chin who was stood near the closet at the back of the room. "Where's Michelle, what's going on?" He asked, worriedly.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Michelle was found dead earlier today." Chin said, watching the SEAL take in the news; he dropped the flowers and his duffle on the floor, the shock clearly evident on his face.

"No, she can't be. I spoke to her this morning, she was fine. She can't be dead." He pleaded.

"I'm afraid she is." Chin confirmed again.

"I'd like to see her." He said.

"Of course we can take you to see her." Chin said, slowly lowering weapon. "We'll drive you over there, why don't you bring your bag with you."

"Thank you." He said, bending to pick his duffle from the floor and realizing he'd dropped the bouquet of roses as well. "We missed Valentine's Day; I wanted to surprise her with the roses."

"They're very beautiful, I'm sure she would have loved them." Kono told him kindly, as he picked them up laying them on the dresser. "Come on let's take you to see her."

He just nodded his head, allowing Kono to usher him out the door, and towards there vehicle.

...

Iolani Palace

1610 hrs.

"I've just received a text from Kono, they have Robinson. There taking him to the M.E's office." Steve announced leaving his office and moving to join Cath and Danny by the smart table.

"Why not here?" Asked Danny.

"Apparently he didn't know she was dead." Steve explained adding as Danny raised an eyebrow in suspicious disbelief. "He turned up at the hotel with a bunch of roses, calling for her."

"Wow that does put a spin on the situation." Cath exclaimed, realizing they couldn't possibly be looking at Elliot's killer.

"Exactly. Look I'm going to head over there, see what I can get out of him. If he is playing us I'd prefer to speak to him myself." Steve stated.

"He might open up to you more anyway." Cath pointed out to him, knowing the Ensign wouldn't find the blue room a threat given his SERE training.

"Yeah that's what I'm thinking." Steve said, looking at Danny who was looking at Steve thoughtfully.

"Why not just sit him in the interrogation room like we would any other suspect." Danny finally asked.

"I wouldn't find that a threat Danny. This kid has had the same kind of training as me, he's not going to break and tell us something. If what Kono and Chin have witnessed at the hotel is true, this kid didn't do it. What we need to do is find out who did and why." Steve told him, palming his truck keys. "Keep working on the security footage from the bar and surrounding areas." He told them as he left the bullpen.

...

Medical Examiner's Office.

1630 hrs.

Steve spotted Kono and Chin in Max's outer office with the young SEAL. The young man looked completely devastated, there were no tears in his eyes, and he just looked completely broken. Steve slowly approached them, not wanting to spook the SEAL. "Ensign Robinson." Steve greeted. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett."

"Sir." He snapped to attention, his military training kicking in.

"At ease, Ensign." Steve told him.

"Aah Commander your here, shall we." Max enquired from the open doorway of the examination room, gesturing for them to enter. He moved to stand on the other side of the table, waiting till everyone was present before pulling the sheet back to reveal the battered and bruised face of Ensign Michelle Elliot.

"Oh god." Exclaimed Robinson as he got a look at her. "Michelle."

Steve was thankful that Max had only revealed the woman's face; he didn't want Robinson seeing the full extent of the injuries to her chest. Steve heard the catch in his voice and glancing towards the young man, took in the silent tears that leaked from his eyes. "When was the last time you spoke to her?" He asked.

"This morning, Sir. I phoned to tell her I'd booked a restaurant for tonight, told her to make sure she picked up a nice dress to wear. I know she planned to go shopping this morning; she didn't want to take me with her. It's not really my thing and last time I went with her, she said I was too much of a distraction." He said with a small smile. "I wish I'd gone with her then she wouldn't be dead." He said, fighting his emotions.

"We're going to find the person responsible." Steve told him, squeezing his shoulder. "We're going to need your help though."

"Yes, Sir." He snapped out, following the Commander from the office.

...

Iolani Palace.

1720 hrs.

Danny looked over at Cath in concern; he'd seen her rubbing at her ribs several times in the past hour. "You okay." He asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Cath quickly answered, turning to look at Danny with a smile.

"Why don't you head home, get some rest." He suggested to her.

Cath was just about to tell him she was fine when Steve walked into the office with Ensign Robinson trailing behind him. Kono and Chin entering a few minutes later. Steve directed the Ensign to his office, before speaking to Cath and Danny. "Have we got anything else?" He asked.

"Lou's still going through the footage, but so far nothing is standing out. She spent the morning shopping, headed back to the hotel around lunch time, dropped her bags of and headed out again." Danny said, bringing up the footage and playing it for Steve.

"Keep on it." He told them, glancing back at the man seated in his office. "There has to be something that we've missed. Have we got any DNA results back yet?" He asked.

"We're still waiting on them." Cath told him. "I've been going through her file; she's the model officer, no blemishes on her record at all. There was a notation in her medical records, about a possible assault just over a year ago, but no further action was recorded. Ensign Elliot denied she had been assaulted, saying she had rough sex with her boyfriend, and it had been consensual."

"What types of injuries are we talking about?" Steve asked, realizing this might be something they needed to look into more fully.

"The report states she returned from her shore leave, with bruising to her wrist's indicating she'd been restrained. There were also bruises and scratches covering her upper body, and down her hips and thighs, indicating rough handling. There were several bite marks that were scabbed over, indicating they must have bled at some point. The doctor didn't find any internal tearing, concluding it must have been consensual." Cath paraphrased from the file in front of her.

"Why would anyone think that was consensual?" Danny asked in shock.

"You telling me you've never had a woman want you to handcuff her to the bed, Danny?" Kono teased, with a grin in Cath's direction.

"Definitely not." Danny was outraged at the suggestion.

"Always preferred to have my hands free." Cath informed them with a grin.

"Yes, we've heard about that Kitten." Danny snarked, before angrily adding. "Don't tell me you believe she wasn't assaulted."

Catherine chuckled; realizing team 6 had shared that particular story. She shook her head, and spoke again. "Danny, unfortunately some women do find that sort of thing a turn on." Cath told him, adding. "One of my bunk mates after the Academy, liked to be dominated by guys. She thought nothing of letting them tie her up and do whatever they pleased with her."

"O'Donlon was well known for it." Steve agreed, instantly remembering the woman from his Academy days. "I think we should look into it though. Cath see if you can get hold of her bunk mate again, find out what she knows about the assault.

"Okay," She said moving towards her office to patch a call threw to the Enterprise.

Danny waited till Catherine had left the bullpen to look at Steve. "Cath okay? I've caught her rubbing her ribs a couple of times." Danny added in concern when Steve turned to look at him.

"When?" Steve asked worry creeping into his voice.

"Just the past hour, I suggested she head home and rest." Danny told him. "She might take more notice of you." Danny suggested.

"I'll speak to her." Steve agreed. "Chin can you check if Elliot ever took a restraining order out against anyone."

"What about her job, something she was working on." Pointed out Chin.

"No. Her job wasn't classified, she was a radar operator. She was responsible for monitoring enemy threats to the ship, by Plane, missile, boat or D.S.V's." Steve explained the Ensign's role. "I'm going to talk to Robinson, see if he can give us anything useful."

They all watched as he moved toward his office, briefly popping his head into Cath's office and speaking to her for a minute. Cath nodded her head, saying something in return, before he left her office, pushing the door to his own open.

...

"Thank you, you've been a great help." Catherine said jotting down notes on the pad in front of her. "If you remember anything else, no matter how small it is, please call me." Cath ended the call, and began searching for the person Ensign Cookson had given her.

The Ensign had been able to remember the ex-boyfriend, and given Cath the guy's name. Elliot had confided in her bunk mate that her ex had been violent towards her on several occasions. The young Ensign had broken of her relationship with him about 18 months previous, although the guy had pestered and harassed her for several months afterwards.

Cath smiled at the screen as her search turned up several arrest records for Brad Higgins for domestic abuse. No charges were ever brought against him, but he'd been cautioned several times for disturbing the peace. Getting up from her desk, she left her office with the tablet in her hand. She knocked softly on Steve's door, and popped her head round the edge when he acknowledged her.

"I've found something you should see." Cath gestured towards the bullpen as she backed out of his office.

Steve stood, moving around his desk as Robinson stood ready to exit the office as well. "You need to stay here, Ensign." Steve ordered.

"Sir, I need to know who did this to her. I need to help you find the person who did this to her." He pleaded, standing his ground with the senior officer.

Steve looked at him, weighing up the situation, realizing he'd been in the same position just a few weeks previously with Catherine's captures. "Fine, but you leave everything up to my team. Is that clear, Ensign?"

"Sir, yes, Sir." He barked in reply snapping to attention.

Steve left the office, Robinson trailing behind as they headed towards the smart table where the rest of his team had assembled. "Cath, what did you find."

Cath briefly glanced at Robinson before turning to Steve who nodded at her. "I spoke to Ensign Cookson again; she was able to fill me in on the details surrounding the medical report that was filed. Elliot had confided in her about her boyfriend, who had been violent towards her on several occasions. Apparently she told the doctor it was all consensual because she didn't want to face him ever again. She broke it off with him, and wanted to make sure he stayed out of her life for good. "Cath paused, flicking the image of Brad Higgins onto the screen in front of them.

"This is Bradley Higgins, he has several arrest records against his name but no convictions were ever brought against him, each time Elliot dropped the charges. The most local police were able to do was caution him for disturbing the peace." Cath outlined. "Unfortunately he's from the mainland, and I haven't found any point of entry for him yet."

"I'll get started on running his face through port authorities, and see if I can get a hit on hotel reservations in his name." Chin said as he began typing away at the keypad on the screen.

"Michelle didn't tell me he'd been violent, but she said he'd pestered and harassed her for months afterwards, wanted them to get back together. I just thought they'd split up because of her career, maybe he'd cheated on her or something. If I'd of known..." He broke of not saying anything else.

"That's probably why she didn't tell you, she didn't want you getting yourself in trouble." Cath soothed in understanding.

"You don't understand, Ma'am. A few months ago, Michelle had a couple of days leave, and she flew out to Coronado to spend some time with me. We ran into this guy, I stepped back so she could handle it herself, and she was till he started getting in her face and pushing her around. I stepped in told the guy to leave while he still could, he left but not before throwing a load of threats at the pair of us. If known for one second what he was capable of." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Did either of you mention you're a SEAL?" Steve asked, wondering if there was a connection here.

"No Sir. I was in my uniform though; we were on our way back from a wedding on base. He would have known I was Navy, I don't know if he was familiar with a Budweiser." He told Commander McGarrett, glancing back towards the screen to look at the bastard responsible for killing his girlfriend.

"You know what I find very admirable, Max?" Danny addressed the young man. "You let her handle the situation herself."

Max smiled at that, gave a small huff of laughter before speaking to the Detective. "It's the way I was raised; Dad might have been the tough as nails, SEAL when I was growing up, but my Mom." He shook his head smiling. "Mom's a CIA field agent; she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"Your mother's CIA?" Danny gasped.

"Yeah, she holds a doctorate in Chemical and Biological weaponry. That's actually how my parents met, a joint mission, my Dad was team leader." Max explained not picking up on the tension in the room, or the looks the Five-0 team were sending their boss. "Sir, why the significance about me being a SEAL?" HE asked.

Steve glanced at the man, before opening up a file containing the photos taken of the victim. He quickly selected the one he wanted, sending it onto the overhead screen. "He used a Budweiser to brand her, obviously implicating you in her death." Steve told him, quietly, watching as the Ensign closed his eyes to block out the image on the screen.

"I've found footage of our guy." Lou called out as he entered the bullpen, heading towards the assembled group. He inserted a flash drive into the smart table and brought the image up on the screen. "He was following her most of the morning, you can see her leaving the store here, and just behind her, this guy. He was in every shot of film she was."

They all stood routed to the spot as they watched the footage playing. Brad Higgins had followed the victim all morning. Steve clenched his jaw as he watched him, grab Elliot from behind, holding her in a classic choke hold as he pulled her into the alleyway behind the bar. When he'd emerged, he'd been readjusting his clothing, pulling his button down shirt fastened to hide the blood stains on his t-shirt.

"Chin, I want an address." Steve barked pulling his phone from his pocket and flicking threw the contact list, and hitting the dial button. "Can you head to the Palace?" He asked as his call was answered, then adding a few moments later. "No, I need you to come and collect your tadpole so he doesn't do something stupid."

"You mean like you?" Mick asked with a chuckle. "I'm on my way."

"You're not funny, Mick. See you shortly." Steve ended the call slipping his phone back into his pocket and turning towards Catherine.

Max had been watching the Commander with avid interest, realizing that he knew his Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Storm well enough to have the man in his phone contacts. That was confirmed at the easy banter that came across from the one sided conversation he could hear.

"We have a location." Chin stated as he brought up credit card details for Bradly Higgins. "He checked into the 'Aloha suites' Pearl city, three days ago for five nights. I also have car rental details for a Chevy Spark from Kameloco rentals. Kono can you get the GPS tracking information from them." He asked, watching as she pulled her phone out and started dialing the number.

"Let me come with you." Robinson pleaded looking at McGarrett. "I can help."

"Not this time." Steve told him with a shake of his head. "You're sitting this one out."

"I'll second that 'Nemo'" Storm's voice called from the entrance of the five-0 office, as SEAL team 6 walked in. "So what's going on Smooth dog?"

"We have a lead on Elliot's killer." Steve explained simply.

"And you need us to make sure we keep 'Nemo' here for you." Mick concluded with a grin.

"Pretty much." Steve grinned, before turning to Cath. "I want you to head home."

"Can I at least stay till you arrest him?" She asked hopefully.

Steve just looked at her, his eyes trying to access how tired she actually was. "Fine, but as soon as we have him you're heading home."

Cath nodded her head, not about to argue with him. It had been a long day and she really was feeling tired, her ribs aching from moving up and down stairwells onboard ship. "Okay, I'll see you at home later." She called as everyone moved, heading towards the exit.

...

Danny's car.

1900 hrs.

Danny turned to look at his partner in the diming light as dusk descended on Oahu. The light from the hotels were blazing as the nightlife started. "You know I didn't say anything earlier when you told the team about having problems."

"We appreciate you keeping it to yourself Danny." Thanked Steve as drove the Camaro through the streets of Honolulu.

"How are things between you?" He asked watching as Steve smiled, turning to look at his partner.

"We're doing okay." Steve grinned at him.

"By the look on your face, I can tell your getting some Barry White. So I'm leaving that right there, because I don't want to know." Danny sighed watching as the grin on Steve's face got wider. "Alright, please stop your putting images in my head."

"I wasn't thinking about that." He turned to look at Danny. "Honestly Danny I'm not thinking about making about love to Catherine, right now. It's just she woke me up in the night."

"Woo, no more please. I don't need to know about Catherine waking you up." Danny shouted, attempting to put a stop to his partner.

"Nothing like that." Steve exclaimed. "Cath and the baby were hungry." he grinned again as he remembered her waking him up.

FLASHBACK

Steve felt Catherine's hands, slip across his chest as she kissed his cheek, whispering his name in his ear.

"Steve, are you awake?" She asked.

"I am now." He told her groggily. "What's wrong, is there someone downstairs." He tried to listen out thinking she'd heard an intruder.

"No, I'm hungry." She said with a smile as he lifted his head to look at her face in the moonlight.

"You're hungry? Cath its 0200 hrs." He said glancing at the clock on his bedside table.

"Yeah, have we still got chocolate ice-cream in the freezer?" Her eyes lighting up at the thought of the chocolate.

"Yeah." He told her in confusion, sure he was missing something. He watched as she smiled, and rubbed at her stomach, then the penny dropped. "I'll get it, you wait here." He dropped a kiss on her lips as he got up pulling on his discarded t-shirt as he headed towards the door.

"Ooh, pineapple as well." She exclaimed as he left the bedroom.

END FLASHBACK.

Danny was laughing at him happy for his friend. "Wait till you feel it kick for the first time that's an awesome feeling trust me."

"You know I can't wait." Steve was grinning at the thought of feeling there child move for the first time. "Cath's got a scan booked for the end of the week; her doctor said we might be able to find out what we're having." He excitedly told Danny.

"You want to know?" Danny was watching the stupid grin that was plastered to his partners face.

"We've talked about it, and Cath wants us to find out. She wants to paint my old room, you know turn it into a proper Nursery. So she wants to know if it's pink or blue." Steve explained.

"Count me in on the painting detail; I'm a dab hand at painting kids bedrooms." Danny offered with an easy smile.

"Thanks." Steve said simply.

"You know I guess there's no need for a DNA test huh, the kid already like's pineapple." Danny teased.

Steve laughed at him, but didn't say anymore.

...

Aloha Suites, Pearl City.

Chin walked back towards the assembled team, who were already tacing up. "Higgins is in room 24, at the rear of the building." Chin explained, grabbing his vest and tacing up himself.

"Ok, you three head around to the back, in case he makes a run for it. Danny and I will head in through the front door." Steve ordered as he took his assault rifle from the boot of the car, closing the lid. Tapping the com link he spoke to Cath. "We're heading in."

"Copy that." She told them from HQ.

Chin, Kono and Lou headed around the back of the building, positioning themselves in case there suspect came through the balcony doors. "We're in position." Lou told McGarrett threw there com's.

"Copy that, we're ready to breach." Steve announced, motioning for Danny to get ready, as he moved behind the door, and kicked the door open. "Five-0." Danny shouted as they entered the room.

The man scrambled to get up from the bed, where he'd been lay moments before watching T.V. He rolled to the floor, attempting to get away as he pushed himself up from the floor, ready to flee. Steve was round the bed in an instant, his gun pointed at Higgins.

"Hands behind your head cross your ankles." Steve ordered as he moved around behind him as Danny covered him. Steve dropped his weapon, pulling his handcuffs from his vest pocket, as he clicked the cuff in place. Pulling both hands behind Higgins back he clicked the second cuff in place, tugging him to his feet. "You're under arrest for the rape and murder of Michelle Elliot. Book him 'Danno' "Steve pushed Higgins towards Danny as his partner grabbed the perp and began reading him his rights.

"Cath," Steve said threw the com link.

"I'm on my way home now." She told him, not giving him chance to tell her. "I'll leave a plate in the fridge for you to warm up." She added, knowing he'd be ready to eat by the time he got home.

"Mahalo." He said simply, closing the link.

...

Iolani Palace.

Mick and Bart were both chuckling as Cath closed the feed. "Ahh isn't that sweet, you even cook for him kitten." Mick laughed.

"Shut up Mick." Cath said with a grin.

"Already started as the dutiful little house wife." Bart chimed, grinning at Catherine.

Catherine shook her head at their teasing, ignoring them as she made her way to her office to collect her purse and car keys. She returned a few minutes later purse over her shoulder. "You guys going to wait till Steve gets back?" Cath asked.

"Yeah, I don't think 'Nemo' will want to move till he knows this bastard is in custody." Mick quickly sobered as he remembered the reason for them all being here.

"I want to see them bring him in." Robinson confirmed, watching her. "Are they taking him down to the station house for booking?"

"No, they'll take him down to the basement. We have an interrogation room down there; Steve brought the concept over from the Navy. It's more effective than HPD." Catherine informed watching as the young man smiled a little at that. "Five-0 has immunity and means; we're good at what we do." She reassured him.

"No different from Naval Intelligence, then." Mick said, "Question is you having a crack at the guy?"

"That's up to Steve." Cath turned to look at Mick. "I'm heading out, so make yourselves at home, you know where everything is."

"Not like you to run out halfway through on op, Kitten?" Bart commented. "Never seen you do it before.

"I've not been 14 weeks pregnant before. I'm tired and my ribs are aching like you wouldn't believe right now." She told the surprised men.

"For real?" Mick gasped out, watching as Cath nodded her head a grin on her face.

"Damn, didn't see that one coming. Makes it easier to understand Steve being extra protective of you." Grinned Mitch, pulling her into a hug. "Congratulations on becoming a mommy."

"Thanks." She turned to look at the young Ensign. "It's more than likely that Steve will leave the guy in the basement tonight, and interview him in the morning. Higgins will be more uncomfortable, because there's no way he'll be able to sleep handcuffed to the chair."

Max nodded his head in understanding. As much as he wanted answers for Michelle's death, he knew there was nothing anyone could do to bring her back. He didn't want to think about moving forward without her in his life.

"Don't look back, you grieve and move on. Holding onto it won't help, you need to find something else to focus on, Michelle would want you to do that for her." Cath told him.

"Sounds like sound advice, Ma'am." He agreed.

"It is we can't change the past we just need to learn from it." She squeezed his arm reassuringly as she moved past him towards the office door.

...

McGarrett's Home

2300 hrs.

Parking the truck besides Catherine's blue corvette, he sat watching his house for a few minutes. The light on the front porch was the only illumination coming from the two story beach house, the rest of the house in total darkness. Steve was glad Catherine had gone to bed, and not waited up for him. He couldn't wait to crawl in bed beside her, just the thought of sleeping besides her making him smile.

After they had brought Higgins in, Steve had started to think about what the kid was going through. He'd come so close to losing Catherine a couple of weeks ago. Losing her like that would have destroyed him; even her leaving was small in comparison to that. He smiled again thinking of all the things they'd still have time to do together.

Climbing out of his truck, he slowly made his way up the path towards their home. He unlocked the door, and after resetting the alarm, headed towards the kitchen to see what Cath had left for him. He pulled open the fridge door, smiling as he spotted the covered dish on the top shelf. He pulled the dish out, grabbing a beer and closing the door again.

Putting the dish of Ragu in the microwave, he popped the top of the beer taking a drink while he waited for the food to warm. The ping of the microwave told him the food was done, as he pulled the ragu from inside and grabbing a spoon from the drawer tucked into the delicious sauce.

He finished the food, washing it down with the beer before rinsing everything and leaving then on the drainer. He left the kitchen turning out the light as he made his way upstairs threw the darkened house. Slipping silently into their bedroom he quickly crossed to the en-suite. Leaving his gun, badge and cell phone on the counter he quickly brushed his teeth and stripped dropping his dirty clothes in the hamper.

Picking his things up of the counter he turned off the light and left the bathroom. Moving towards his side of the bed he placed his gun in the drawer and put the phone in the charger. He sat on the edge of the bed removing his watch and placing it on the bedside table, all the while listening to Cath's gentle breathing coming from behind him.

Slipping under the cool sheets he got into bed, moving gently till he was nestled behind Cath his arm slipping around her waist to rest his palm on her stomach. He closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep with a smile of contentment on his face.

...

The end, for now.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve was sat with Catherine in the small waiting room, his eyes shifting around the room uneasily as he noted he was the only guy there. Cath shook her head as she watched him check the perimeter once again; knowing he was picking out possible attack points and escape routes. 'You can take the man out of the SEAL's but you can't take the SEAL out of the man' she thought.

After watching him fidget for what felt like the hundredth time, Cath decided to take pity on him and give him a way out. "Why don't you wait in the truck?" She offered.

"You don't want me here?" He asked in confusion. "I thought we discussed this, that I'd be here for all your appointments."

"Steve, I can tell this is making you uncomfortable. I'll be fine if you wanted to wait outside for me." Cath reassured with a smile, taking hold of his hand to give it a squeeze.

"No, I want to be here for this. Your Doctor said we might be able to tell what we're having, and I want to see that." He smiled back at her, ready to plead if she insisted he wait in the truck. "Besides I'd rather not tell Danny I got chased of by the idea of a roomful of pregnant women." He confided in a whisper.

Cath bark of laughter was interrupted by the nurse calling her name. Standing up they moved into the Doctors office, Catherine sitting on the examination bench as Steve took the only other chair in the room.

"Catherine I see you've brought Daddy with you." The elderly Hawaiian Doctor said holding his hand out for Steve to shake. "Doctor Liko Kilakoa." He introduced.

"Steve McGarrett." He took the Doctor's hand, feeling reassured by the man's warmth.

"It's always nice when a father wants to be involved." He said with a smile. "Catherine why don't we get you comfy and then we can get a good look at the little one. Have you decided if you want to know your baby's sex?"

"We want to know." Catherine informed him as she settled back on the couch, readjusting her clothing so the Doctor could examine her stomach.

...

Iolani Palace

Friday 0930 hrs.

Lou entered the bullpen, looking around to see if McGarrett had made it in this morning. He'd seen Danny's car parked outside but hadn't noticed either the Silverado or Corvette parked there. Assuming Steve had caught a ride with his partner, he moved to join Danny, Chin and Kono by the smart table where they were going through some old case's that were about to go to trial. "Hey you seen McGarrett this morning, I didn't see his truck outside."

"He's at the Doctor's with Catherine." Danny informed Lou, as he turned towards him.

"Everything's okay?" Kono asked worriedly from across the smart table.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Catherine has a scan booked in for this morning; apparently the doctor thinks they might be able to tell what she's having." Danny informed with a smile.

"They checking for flippers and a snorkel?" Teased Lou as the other's laughed.

"I think that's a definite. Kids already eating pineapple's, definitely taking after Steve." Danny informed the team, making them all chuckle.

"Then I'd say that he or she is definitely Hawaiian." Chin commented with a smile. "Has Steve said anything about their preference?"

"No, I don't think there really bothered about that. It's Cath who wants to know, so they can paint the Nursey." Danny turned around checking to make sure that no one but the four of them would here this conversation. He didn't want someone walking in and over hearing him. "I know they both said they didn't want any wedding presents, but Grace came up with an idea."

"You know they were both pretty adamant about people donating to the Widow and orphan fund for the Police and Navy." Chin pointed out.

"They're both very worthy causes." Lou agreed.

"Yes, and I fully support that decision. Grace actually came up with the idea of setting up the Nursery for them while there on their honeymoon." Danny said, checking each of his colleagues faces for their reactions.

"You know that's a pretty awesome idea, Brah." Kono said. "I'm in."

"Me too." Chin quickly agreed.

"You can definitely count me, Renee and the kids in on that one." Lou also agreed with a grin.

"Couple of years back I helped Steve move some stuff into the basement. Now I'm pretty sure there was a crib and some other baby stuff down there. I was thinking we could clean it up and re-paint it." Danny suggested, watching as they all readily agreed.

The ringing of a phone had them all checking their pockets. "It's mine." Announced Danny, as he answered the call. "Detective William's?"

...

"Danny," He called as he arrived at the crime scene with Cath. "What do we know?"

"Very little. Two male victims and a woman, who we're unable to understand. There both mid to late 30's, Hawaiian taxi driver with multiple GSW, and an Arab male passenger with 2 GSW. The woman is being treated for shock and cuts to her arms and face from flying glass." Danny told him, as he walked Steve towards the vehicle.

"She's foreign?" Steve asked, picking up on the fact that if man was foreign then so might the woman.

"Yes, we're trying to find out what language she's speaking. Maybe you'll have more look, Steve." Danny said pointing towards the back of the ambulance were an Arab woman was sat with a blanket wrapped round her shoulder's.

The woman was wearing a head scarf completely covering her hair as the paramedic cleaned the wounds on her face and hands. Steve could see she was shaking, fear in her eyes as she kept glancing around at all the police, her gaze constantly moving towards the vehicle she'd been a passenger in. Steve headed over towards her, a friendly smile on his face as he approached her.

"Steve McGarrett," He said tapping his chest to indicate his name.

The woman gave a small watery smile, nodding her head in understanding. "Yasmin Rashid." She said tapping her own chest.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Steve asked her in Farsi, hoping she might understand.

Shaking her head she replied, clearly not understanding him. Steve was able to get a few words from her reply, quickly realizing she was speaking Pashtu. Steve pattered her hand, turning to look over his shoulder to locate Catherine. Cath was with Lou; both of them busy speaking to Max as he examined the dead man. "Cath?" He called, getting no response, he called again. "Rollins?"

Cath turned as she heard Steve call her name from the back of the ambulance. Excusing herself with Max and Lou she made her way towards Steve. "Max is ready to transport the DB's back to the lab, but preliminary reports show one victim died from two GSW to the chest and head, while the other multiple GSW's." She reported as she reached his side.

"Thanks. This is Yasmin Rashid; we've established she speaks Pashtu." Steve informed her, as he moved aside to allow her to get a better look at the woman.

"Hello, Yasmin. I'm Catherine, I'm a police officer. Can you tell me what happened?" She asked the woman in her own language.

The woman smiled, grabbing at Catherine's hand as she realized she would be understood. "You help find the men who kill my husband?" She pleaded.

"Yes, but we need your help. I need you to tell me everything that happened." She explained to the other woman, before she turned to speak to Steve. "It's her husband." She told him.

"Okay, get as much info as you can from her. Are you okay, getting her back to HQ to interview her?" He asked Cath.

"Yeah, that's not a problem. She's probably going to be a little more comfortable with me, than if you or Danny drove her back anyway." Cath pointed out to him.

"Call me as soon as you get back." He told her, handing her the keys for the Silverado. He gave her arm a small squeeze as he moved away from her side.

"I'll be fine Steve; I promise I'll be careful." She said on a whisper so no one close by would hear their conversation. He smiled at her, nodding his head and turned walking over to where Danny was stood talking to Eric as he processed the crime scene.

"Husband?" Yasmin asked Catherine as she turned back to look at her.

Catherine shook her head, replying. "Not yet, were betrothed." She explained for her.

"He's very handsome man, yes?" Yasmin said.

"Yes he is." Cath agreed. "I'm going to take you back to our office so we can find out who did this to your husband. You'll be more comfortable there than if we did this at the police station. I promise you can trust me, Yasmin." Cath outlined to the other woman as she held her hand out towards her, smiling when Yasmin took the offered hand.

...

"Where's Catherine going with the witness?" Danny asked, watching as Cath lead the woman towards Steve's truck. "And why is it you let your Fiancée drive your truck, yet I can't drive my own car?" An annoyed Danny questioned.

"Because my Fiancée didn't drive her car to work this morning." Grinned Steve, before answering the important question Danny had asked him. "To answer where Cath is taking our witness, she's taking her back to HQ, so she can interview her."

"We find out what language she was talking, just sounded like gibberish to me." Lou announced as he moved to join Steve and Danny.

"She's speaking Pashtu; Cath's talking to her now." Steve explained. "The surname is Rashid, check entry points, hotels and rental agencies." He told them.

"CSU is going over the scene, but looks like our shooter used an assault rifle of some kind. There are a lot of shell casings, and the car is riddled with bullet holes. 5.45 mm full metal cased jacket." Lou said handing over the casing to McGarrett to take a better look at.

"You know this is typical ammo for an AK-74." Steve palmed the casing, glancing across to where Max was loading the Vitim into the coroners van.

"You're thinking this mean's something?" Asked Danny.

"Possibly. It's a Soviet made weapon, used primarily in the Afghan-Soviet conflict in the late 70's. The Mujahedeen ceased a lot of weaponry from the Soviets during that time. They went on to be called the Taliban, Danny." Steve explained. "Yasmin Rashid, our witness is from Afghanistan, and I'm willing to bet, so is her husband."

...

Iolani Palace

Monday 1130 hrs.

Cath was listening to Yasmin talking about her husband and her life back in Afghanistan, when a knock on her door made her look up. Cath smiled as she saw Steve push her door open. "Excuse me." Cath said to her as she, got up from the chair she'd been sitting in and moved to greet Steve.

"What have you got from her?" Steve asked as everyone came together around the table.

"To do with the shooting very little, her husband must of seen the shooter because he pulled her down just moments before the first shots were fired. All she saw was a white van pulling up beside them. She didn't see his face or even the gun she claimed it happened to fast to see anything from the vantage point her husband put her in. He shielded her body with his own."

"There from a small village, typical Afghani lifestyle, nothing out of the ordinary. Yasmin said several months ago a small U.S military unit set up camp not too far from the village. Her husband ran into them several times while out with their herd. It sounds as if they were sending up UAV's to cover the terrain." Cath explained.

"Which would indicate they had Taliban embedded in that area? The ammo used in the shooting is typical of AK74 ammo." He concluded. "The question is why were the two of them targeted on U.S soil. Keep digging with her she might know more than what she realist's." He told her giving a small smile.

"I will." She said softly her hand brushing across his as she made to move from the table.

"You two going to share how it went?" Danny spoke up asking the question on all their minds.

Steve grinned at Catherine who was beaming back at him. "Everything's fine and in a little over five months our son will be here." Steve proudly announced pulling his phone from his pocket and flicking the sonogram picture onto the smart table to display on the screen.

"Ooh, wow." Kono awed as she saw the grainy image displayed on the screen.

"Should we be worried about having a little Steven running around on the loose?" Danny teased, grinning at his two friends.

"You think you'd be safer with a mini Catherine?" Steve asked in amusement.

"Probably not." Danny quickly agreed, watching as Catherine shook her head in amusement, before returning to her office.

"So Catherine's Doctor is certain it's a boy?" Chin asked studying the picture on the screen in fascination.

Steve laughed at Chin, "Definitely a boy, everything's in the right place."

"You need me to explain the difference's cut?" Grinned Kono, making the other's laugh.

"That won't be necessary, Kono." He replied, blushing slightly at the implication.

...

Iolani Palace

Friday 1700 hrs.

Steve and Catherine had both been in contact with all their military and government contact's with little results. The most Chin and Kono were able to find on their exit into the U.S had been threw immigration at LAX. It was as if Rashid had merely appeared overnight. The driver's license and passport for their victim had been issued in L.A, but they couldn't find anything else out.

Catherine had spent most of the day talking to Yasmin Rashid, but they were still nowhere nearer to finding the truth. The woman had been helpful telling Cath anything she needed to know even though she was devastated by the loss of her husband. Catherine had raised the subject of where they were going to put Yasmin they were all aware that if the gunman realized that he'd left a witness he could return.

Yasmin did not speak English so was unable to converse with anyone but Catherine and a little bit with Steve. They had quickly come to the conclusion that Yasmin would have to stay at the beach house with them. Lou had arranged for a small SWAT team to be present outside McGarrett's house during the night.

Steve handed his truck keys to Kono. "Make sure you check over all your vehicles anything suspicious and we call in bomb squad understood." He glanced at them all in turn make sure they understood his order. It was unlikely that they would have been targeted, but Steve wasn't taking any chances with any of them.

They all left the office together, Chin and Lou moving ahead of the group to secure the lift, while Danny and Steve took the stairwell, leaving Catherine and Kono to guard Yasmin as they approached the lift. Steve phoned Catherine's cell a couple of minutes later to tell them the lobby was secure, as they entered the lift and made their way downstairs.

Steve and Danny nodded at the Palace security team at the front desk as they moved past the line of people waiting by the metal detectors to enter the Palace lobby. Steve was busy scanning the faces of all the people checking for any potential threats as, Catherine and Kono quickly moved through the lobby towards them. Chin, Danny and Lou quickly broke off exiting the building to check on their cars, before nodding in the Steve's direction.

Catherine and Kono had reached Steve's side and waited till they received the all clear from Chin and Lou on all their cars, before they left the safety of the Palace. Kono slipped away from Steve and Cath who were flanking either side of Yasmin as they walked towards the cars. Opening Steve's truck and quickly checking it over, she started the engine, just as Steve and Catherine reached the truck.

Steve opened the passenger side rear door, helping Yasmin to step up onto the running board and into the back seat, before closing the door. He pulled the front door open for Catherine, closing it after she'd got in, before moving round to the driver's side. Kono had slid out of the drivers set and was quickly making her way over to her own car.

Chin moved out of his parking spot first, taking the lead as they made their way to the beach house. Danny and Lou both heading home to their families at Steve's insistence. "I didn't see anything suspicious!" Cath exclaimed as Steve drove the truck home.

"Me neither, I'm pretty sure that whoever killed her husband either isn't aware she's still alive or haven't figured out where she is yet." Steve said as he drove through the light traffic, heading home.

"Yeah, let's hope it's more the former." Cath agreed, turning to glance at Yasmin in the back seat. "Everything will be fine, Yasmin." She reassured with a smile.

"What do you want to do about Dinner? I can head out and get take away once were secure." Steve suggested to her.

"I'll cook something; I'll need to go to the store though." Cath told him. "We haven't got much in."

"Make a list, I'll go." He insisted, not willing to let her out of the house alone, while Yasmin was staying with them.

Cath sighed frustrated at his over protective side. "Steve, I'm more than capable of going to the store." she growled at him in annoyance.

Steve glanced across at Cath, picking up on her tension. "You'll be safer in the house." He pointed out.

"Caveman," She muttered under her breath. "I've spent 3 months on an undercover op in Afghanistan, and yet going to the store on Oahu I can't manage." She snapped, crossing her arms across her chest defensively.

"Cath, we're not getting into this now." He quietly told her, glancing at her in the passenger seat. "Is it really wrong of me to want you both safe?" He asked, watching the road. When she didn't reply he glanced at her again, watching her swipe the silent tears from her eyes.

Cath couldn't answer him, as she swiped at the tears spilling down her cheeks. She couldn't even stay mad at him after his whispered words. This wasn't just about her anymore; this was about protecting their unborn son. "I'm sorry." She whispered, reaching out to place her hand on his arm.

"We'll talk later." He told her gently, turning to smile at her in reassurance. "Best ask our guest if she needs anything picking up." Steve suggested.

"Yeah." Cath agreed, turning to look back at Yasmin.

...

McGarrett's residence

1930 hrs.

Steve could here Catherine and Yasmin talking in the dining room as he washed the dinner pots. He could tell the conversation was relaxed, as the two women would occasionally laugh at something the other said. Catherine had kept up a steady conversation with the other woman all the way through dinner, translating bits of the conversation for him.

Cath had managed to get a little more information out of Yasmin about their entry into the country, and the person who had helped them with documentation. She had only been able to give them a description of the man, but no name as her husband had done all the talking with the stranger.

Steve was convinced they had been brought into the country for either protection or so that her husband could give details on Intel he might have. The problem would be finding out exactly who they might need to contact. He sighed, frustrated at the amount of unknown's they still had. Max had sent over his autopsy report just before they left the Palace and that didn't let them know anything different. Until they had a possible weapon to test, CSU didn't have anything on the ballistics'. The ballistics' hadn't matched anything they already had on file, meaning the weapon had not been used in a crime before now.

Kono and Chin had gone over all the surveillance footage they could find from Street cams and CCTV, but still had nothing on the white van. Bracing his hands on the sink he stared out of the kitchen window, watching the ocean. He really needed to clear his head, needed to think, they were missing something here. A sound from behind him, alerted him to Cath's presence.

"Hey," She said moving to his side and slipping her arm around his waist as he threw his arm around her shoulders pulling her close. "Why don't you go for a swim?" She suggested resting her head against his shoulder.

"Mmm I could do with trying to clear my head." He told her dropping a kiss on her head. He made no attempt to move though, just enjoying having her in his arms. "A swim would be good, unless you want to play trapped in a foxhole?" He asked suggestively.

Cath grinned at him. "Maybe later, Sailor."

"Look about earlier; I'm sorry if I came over a little over protective with you. I know you're capable of looking after yourself." He apologized.

"No it's fine, I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did. I have to remember it's not just about me anymore, it's about us both protecting our baby." Apologized Catherine in return. "Go and get your swim before it's too dark." Cath told him, standing on tip toes to quickly kiss his cheek as she slipped out of his arms, to return to the lounge.

He followed her out of the room, glancing across at the open lanai doors to see Catherine and Yasmin seated at the table watching the ocean. He quickly headed up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time as he moved towards their bedroom to change. He changed out of his cargo pants and t-shirt throwing on his boardie's and grabbing a towel from the en-suite before heading back downstairs for his swim.

...

Catherine smiled as she saw Steve dive under the waves as he took off from the shore, his strokes shore and even as he cut powerfully through the water. Yasmin was watching with open fascination as he swam away from the shore. "He's so far away." She exclaimed worriedly as she watched him in the distance, till she could see him no longer.

"He's fine Yasmin; this is something he does all the time." Cath explained, not worried in the slightest for his safety whilst in the water. The sound of Steve's phone ringing came from the table where he'd left it. Glancing at the caller display to see if it was important, she spotted Sam Hanna's name pop up. She picked it up, answering the call. "Hey, Sam."

"Sorry, Cath. I thought I'd rung Steve." Sam said.

"You did. He's just gone for a swim, which is why I'm answering. Did you manage to find anything out?" She asked, knowing Steve had called Sam for information earlier.

"Yes, but not much. Nell was able to do a little digging into the documentation that they were issued. It's really good quality, the sort we'd use ourselves for undercover work. I've spoken to Hetty; she's agreed to let me do a little digging for you on my end. Michelle's checking with a few of her old contact's see if the Agency has anything in the works." He outlined.

"Thanks Sam. We really appreciate you helping five-0 with this. We've managed to get a description from Yasmin about the man who arranged the documents. Male Caucasian, brown hair and eyes, about 5'9" slim build and a pale completion in his late 30's. We'll get her with a sketch artist in the morning, and email a copy to you." Catherine told him gratefully.

"You're welcome Cath, glad to be returning a favor. Get the sketch over to us in the morning and we'll see what we can dig up for you. It's possible Nell and Eric might find him with Kaleidoscope." Sam offered before adding. "And tell Steve he still owes me that steak dinner he promised."

Cath chuckled at that. "You could be waiting a while, he owes me a lot more than one, and I'm living with him." Cath told him. Sam's laughter coming over the line just before he ended the call.

...

Warehouse, Pearl City.

1930 hrs.

Amir grunted in pain as he was struck hard in the stomach his arms held behind his back to keep him upright. "You're an idiot." His boss hissed at him, watching as another of his men struck Amir again. "You left the woman alive if she tells the American's what you look like they will come for us."

"She didn't see me, I swear." Amir pleaded. "Let me find her and kill her."

"No, it's too late for that." He told Amir. "Finish him." He ordered, turning his back on Amir moving towards the exit of the warehouse.

He clicked his fingers at one of his men, and he instantly ran to his side. "Have you discovered McGarrett's location?" He demanded.

"Not yet, Sir. We watched McGarrett leave the palace this evening. Rashid's wife and an American woman were with him. We could not follow him as he had his people watching for an attack. They were ready to defend themselves." He explained to his boss.

"The American woman; she was with McGarrett?" He asked.

"Yes, Sir. I was able to take a picture." He pulled a phone from his pocket, finding the picture's he'd taken of the woman with McGarrett.

Staring at the woman in the photo he smiled as he recognized her. McGarrett would pay for destroying his training camp and so would his woman. They would both die for taking his army from him. He would make sure the woman suffered, her screams would be the last thing McGarrett would hear before his own death.

"Find them. Do not fail me Tarik." He ordered.

...

McGarrett's Residence.

2200 hrs.

Steve was already in bed, a thin sheet covering him by the time Catherine left the bathroom. He grinned as he got a look at what she was wearing. "I think you're a little out of uniform Lieutenant." He placed his hands behind his head, watching as she moved slowly towards him. She had thrown on her cammo shirt, but left it unbuttoned showing of lots of flesh. "And those panties are definitely not regulation." He grinned sexily.

"Is that so Commander." She purred running the tip of her tongue along her top lip.

"You should definitely take them off." He informed running his hand along her thigh as she placed one knee on the bed bedside him. He slid his hand upwards cupping her bottom and kneading the flesh as he slipped his fingers under the scrap of blue lace.

Cath leaned forwards capturing his lips with her own as he slid a hand round her waist and pulled her down to the bed. He gently rolled them over till she was beneath him kissing his way down her neck. Cath moaned as he nipped at her pulse point then groaned loudly as they both heard the sound of Steve's cell ringing.

"Don't go anywhere." He said dropping a kiss on her lips as he pushed himself up from the bed snatching the phone from the charging dock. "McGarrett." He growled into the phone not even checking the caller I.D.

He turned to look at Cath who was waiting patiently for the call to end. Her hair was fanned out around her head spilling off the edge of the mattress. Her shirt had fallen open leaving the whole of her body naked to his gaze. He smiled sexily at her as his eyes raked over the swell of her breasts, fuller with her pregnancy.

Cath returned his smile watching him as his gaze roved over her body. His eyes settled on her stomach, a gentle smile of wonder lighting his face. Cath reached out for his hand with her own interlacing their fingers as she placed them against the swell of their unborn son.

"I'm on my way I'll be there in 20 minutes." Steve replied ending the call. "Sorry I have to go." He told her leaning over and kissing her lips.

"I'll be right here when you get home." She whispered against his lips.

"In which case consider this a rain check." He grinned bumping his nose against hers before rolling away from her and leaving the bed.

Catherine watched as he quickly dressed clipping his badge to his belt and securing his weapon. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and slipped it into the pocket of his cargo pants before turning back to her. "SWAT's outside if you need them." He told her gently watching as she nodded her head in understanding.

"I'll be fine Steve." Cath sat up swinging her legs off the bed and stripping out of her shirt and panties to pull on her sleep clothes. He moved towards the door and Catherine stalled him with a hand on his arm. "Be careful." She told him a little nervously.

"What's wrong?" He asked instantly picking up on her tension.

She shook her head. "I just have a bad feeling about this case, l think we're missing something. Just promise me you'll be careful." She pleaded.

"I'll be careful. I have too much to lose, Catherine." He dropped a kiss on her forehead and left the bedroom leaving her with a soft smile on her face.

...

Blaisdell Park - Pearl City

2220 hrs.

Steve strolled across the grass heading towards the taped of area near the water's edge. "Duke?" He called out to the Hawaiian man as approached.

"Steve." He acknowledged, raising the tape for the Commander to pass underneath. "A young couple walking their dog along the bike path found our victim just over an hour ago. He's been beaten and beheaded. The dog found the head in the brush along the shore and dragged it back to his owners." Duke explained as they reached the victim's decapitated body.

Steve dropped down onto one knee to get a better look at the victim. "Max, do we know exactly what killed him?" Steve asked the M.E who was examining the victim's severed remains.

"At this time Commander I am unable to ascertain if his head was severed pre or post mortem. I will be able to tell you more once I have examined him back at my lab." Max informed him.

"We need to get an id on him right away." Steve took note of the man's complexion and facial structure quickly realizing the man was Arab. He couldn't help but think this could possibly be related to the Rashid case. "Max, swab him for GSR."

Max raised an eyebrow at the Commander, quickly realizing the implications of the request. "You believe he could be our shooter from earlier?" Max was already performing the required test.

"I think it's too much of a coincidence not to be." Steve agreed.

"You're instincts are correct, Commander. It would seem our victim has indeed fired a weapon before his death." Max confirmed also adding. "His finger prints do not see to be in our system though."

"Lou?" He called watching as the former SWAT captain excused himself with the two witnesses that had found the body, and walked over to where Steve was. "Looks like we might have our shooter from earlier." He told him, pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing Catherine's cell phone.

"Hey Sailor, you need a favor?" Cath asked in a teasing tone.

"Not this time. Is everything okay at the house?" He asked in concern.

"Yeah." He heard the rustling of clothing come over the line, before hearing the door to their bedroom open and close as she made her way downstairs. "SWAT's still outside and I've got an eyeball on Ryan as we speak."

"Good. I've got a dead body with a severed head and GSR on his hands. I think our dead victim could be Rashid's shooter." He told her.

"Do we have and I'd on the victim?" Catherine asked him.

"Not yet. Lou and I are just about to head back to the Palace to check him through the data base. Finger prints have come back negative." He explained to her, frustrated not to have more on the victim.

"Do you want me to head in to work?" She asked ready to join him if he needed her.

"No, you get some sleep. I'll be home later." He said softly.

"Okay. Feel free to wake me for that rain check." Cath purred seductively down the phone.

"I'll definitely do that." He replied, a grin forming on his face at the idea of waking her up and finishing what they'd started earlier. "Good night, Cath."

"Good night, sailor." She replied just before she ended the call.

...

Iolani Palace

0200 hrs.

"Well I can't find diddly squat on this guy." Lou complained as pushed open the door to Steve's office and dropped down into the nearest chair. "Why are the chairs in your office more comfortable than in mine?"

"Maybe because I'm the boss." Steve grinned at him before adding in a more serious tone. "I haven't come across our shooter yet either. I just feel like we're missing something."

"Yeah, I've been thinking that as well. The wife manage to tell you anything else about the husband?" Lou asked hoping for more of a lead.

Steve let out a breath. "Not much, she's given Cath a description of the guy who issued their documents. We'll get her with a sketch artist later today, and hopefully we can at least id the people responsible for them being in the U.S. Sam Hanna has offered to do a little digging for us, he's got his wife checking up with her agency contacts." Steve told him as he leaned his head back against his chair and closed his eyes.

"Am I keeping you awake?" Lou teased with a chuckle, watching as McGarrett opened one eye to look at him.

Steve chuckled. "Haven't been getting a lot of sleep this past week. Wipe that grin of your face, Lou. Cath's been waking me up because she's hungry." He explained with a smile.

"I remember those days well. Peanut butter and pickled onions, that's what Renee used to crave when she was pregnant." Lou shared with a smile.

"That's disgusting." Steve exclaimed.

"I'm willing to bet there's a whole lot of disgusting food you've eaten before." Pointed out Lou.

"Yeah." Agreed Steve. "Next time you hear someone tell you snake tastes like chicken, don't trust them there lying." Steve informed him with a grin.

Lou chuckled. "I'll remember that. How about we both head home to our beds?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Steve agreed pushing himself out of his chair and grabbing the keys for his truck of the desk. "Come one." He gestured towards the door.

...

McGarrett's Residence.

0655 hrs.

Catherine opened her eyes glancing across at Steve who was lay face down on his side of the bed still fast asleep. Slipping out of bed carefully so as not to wake him, she moved round to his side of the room to switch of his alarm. Moving as quietly as she could she headed into their en-suite to get ready for the day.

Exiting the bathroom several minutes later she grabbed some clothes and dressed quickly before heading downstairs. Making her way towards the front of the house, she pulled the slats of the blinds open to check on the SWAT team outside. She spotted Captain Ryan talking to the relief team that had just arrived. A moment later he headed up the path towards the front door.

Ryan wrapped his knuckles on the door waiting for someone to answer. He knew it was possible Commander McGarrett was still in bed, given his return home early this morning. He'd seen the blinds move just moments before so knew someone was awake and moving round the house.

Cath disabled the alarm system before opening the door to the SWAT captain. "Morning." Cath greeted.

"Morning, Is Commander McGarrett awake?" Ryan asked the pretty Lieutenant.

"No sorry he's still asleep. Would you like to come in for a coffee?" Cath asked moving aside to allow him to enter.

"No it's fine. I'm about to head home; my second team is in place. No one has been anywhere near the house all night. The only vehicle we saw was the Commanders leaving and returning." He informed her.

"Thanks', we appreciate it." Cath thanked holding her hand out to shake the Captain's hand.

The Captain shook her hand before turning and leaving. Cath closed the door and headed in the direction of the kitchen. She had just entered the Kitchen when she heard a sound behind her. Grabbing a knife from the block on the worktop she spun around coming face to face with a startled Yasmin. Cath lowered the knife as she reassured the other woman. "It's okay, Yasmin. You just startled me; I didn't realize you were awake."

"I woke up early so I could prey." Yasmin explained as she moved closer towards Catherine who had replaced the knife in the block.

"I'm just about to start on breakfast." Cath told her as she began collecting the ingredients she would need. "Are you hungry?

...

Iolani Palace

Saturday 1000 hrs.

"Boss. I've got a name for the headless guy." Kono informed them as she made her way towards the smart table where most of the five-0 team was gathered. She flicked the information onto the screen in front of them. "Amir Rahman."

"How did you manage to get a file from Homeland security?" Lou questioned curiously as he took note of the file information on the screen.

"Lori." Steve stated as Kono nodded her head in agreement.

"Who?" Lou asked.

"Agent Lori Wesson. She worked for Five-0 for a short time; she transferred back to Homeland security." Steve informed Lou. "What was Lori able to tell you about Rahman?"

"He entered the U.S via Pakistan on a student visa supposedly to study for a teaching degree at UCLA. They have never heard of him. Several months ago he was put on a watch list after his face turned up on security footage taken from a UAV." Kono told him.

"Do we know where and who the footage was taken by?" Steve enquired.

"No. Lori said her clearance level wasn't high enough to get her the redacted file." Kono explained.

"What about associates?" Cath asked her.

"Just this one, we have a face but no name." Kono flicked another image onto the screen, and Cath froze.

"Tarik Khalid, he's one of Abdullah Hassain's Lieutenant's." Cath told them, turning to look at Steve who was watching her intently.

"Who are they, Cath.?" He asked her gently.

"Last year when I was tracking Najib, I went through a small village where Hassain's men had been through on a raid. The men had tried to fight back to protect their families and stop them taking the children. As a punishment to the village Hassain had his men rape the women and take all the children, even the babies. Tarik Khalid was the one responsible for the children. The men said they heard gun fire shortly after they left the village, they found all the babies in a ditch just outside the village." Cath swiped at the tears as they fell down her cheeks. Steve pulled her into is arms as she let the tears freely flow.

"The youngest was only a few days old." She sobbed into his shoulder as he stroked her hair. "Twelve babies, none of them over two years old."

"What a sick world we live in." Exclaimed Lou in horror. No one else said anything too shocked to speak.

A beep from the smart table alerted them to a Skype request. Steve glanced at the screen checking the address. Realizing it was NCIS's LA office that was calling he answered the call. "Hey Sam, thanks for getting back to me."

"Michelle was able to get a name for your mystery guy with the documents. He's a CIA analyst by the name of Henry Simmer son. It seems that Rashid witnessed an attack in a neighboring village. He notified an American military unit that was set up in a camp near his own village. They sent aid and with the help of Rashid they were able to target a couple of Taliban spots and send in Special Forces teams to neutralize the targets. Shortly after they came after Rashid, and the CIA agreed to relocate him to the U.S." Sam told them ignoring the fact his friend currently had his arm around Catherine.

"We had another body show up last night, this one was the shooter. He'd been beheaded and dumped on the Pearl Harbor bike path. We managed to id the guy as Amir Rahman, who it seems is has connections to a Tarik Khalid and an Abdullah Hassain." Steve shared with him.

"You sure about Khalid and Hassain? We've not even managed to get photos of the two of them.

"Catherine has just id Khalid." He told Sam as he felt her pull away from him, wiping the tears from her face.

"I was in one of the villages that they raided. They'd raped the women and killed twelve babies aged between 2 days and two years old. The rest of the children were taken to a Taliban compound. I helped that village get their children back." Cath told him firmly, leaving no room for doubt.

"Hetty is arranging for a security team to take Mrs. Rashid into protective custody." Sam announced.

"She only speaks Pashtu, so I'd suggest someone who speaks the language." Steve suggested, watching as Sam nodded in agreement.

"I'll let you know when the team's in place." Sam said ending the call.

"Chin, Start running their names and faces through the system. I want everything you can find on these two, check for hotels and car rentals as well. Kono find out what Eric has managed to come up with and see if Max has a time of death for Rahman." Steve told them.

...

Iolani Palace  
Saturday 1800 hrs.

Catherine tapped on Steve's door just before she pushed it open and entered his office. He smiled at her as she dropped down on to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Yasmin get away okay?" He asked her.

"Yes. The agent in charge told me they were taking her back to the mainland; they have a safe house set up for her." Catherine explained to him.

Sam had called him back a little over an hour ago to give him the details of the security team that would be collecting Yasmin Rashid from Five-0. Steve was relieved to have the woman of his hands, he'd felt uneasy having her in their home. It wasn't that he didn't trust the woman; it was just a gut feeling he had that her presence was bringing danger to Catherine.

"That's good." He agreed. "Chin's still going through the system trying to find Khalid and Hassain, so far nothing." He sighed in frustration.

"Yeah. I reached out to my contacts in Naval Intelligence; they don't have anything on them either. It's frustrating not knowing what their target is." Catherine said.

"CSU have come up empty handed as well. All we do know is Rahman wasn't killed at Blaisdell Park. Max has confirmed time of death between 7 and 9 pm last night, and the head was severed pre-mortem." Steve watched her as she took in the information.

"So he was executed." Cath reasoned, watching as he nodded his head in agreement. "Have you brought Danny up to speed yet?"

"Yeah, I've spoken to him. He offered to drop the kids back with Rachael and come in to help; I've told him not bother." Steve hadn't wanted to spoil his partner's weekend with his family.

"There's nothing else we can do right now, so come home with me." She said softly.

"Cath," He was ready to argue with her about staying.

"Okay, can we at least go and get something to eat?" She asked then playing her trump card when he looked as if he was going to object. "You're son is hungry." She smiled at him watching the grin appear on his face.

"Come on then, let's go feed the little guy." He said as stood and moved around his desk, holding his hand out to help her up.

...

Warehouse - Pearl City

"Sir. The woman has been handed over to federal agents; we were unable to follow her. I managed to follow McGarrett and his women home." Tariq informed Hassain. "I did not approach so as not to draw attention to myself."

"You did well, Tariq." Hassain praised as he smiled to himself. McGarrett and the woman would soon pay.

...

McGarrett's Residence

Saturday 1100 hrs

Steve was sprawled out on the couch, Catherine's naked body draped over his. He was panting for breath, a look of pure bliss on his face as Catherine grinned down at him. "You. Are. Getting. Better." She punctuated each word with a kiss.

Steve chuckled at her rolling his hips, making her moan at the contact. "I'll take that as a compliment." He teased.

"You're getting better at feeding me." She teased on a small laugh.

"I thought I should start knocking a few dinners of that I.O.U list of yours." He replied. "I'm still trying to figure out how we ended up naked on the couch though."

"You're the one who kissed me in the truck." Catherine reminded him.

"Who took their panties of before we left the restaurant? You seduced me Catherine." He grinned as he took in Catherine's smug look.

"A woman has to use whatever she has at her disposal to look after her man." Catherine whispered against his lips.

A huge grin lit his face at her words. "Sounds to me like someone is staking a claim."

"This time next week, I'll have you completely bagged and tagged, Commander." She purred as she kissed his ring finger.

...

McGarretts Residence

Sunday 0400 hrs

"Steve, wake up." Cath said shaking him.

Opening one eye to look at her in the moonlight. "You're hungry." He surmised as he threw the covers of his legs to get up and go down to the kitchen.

"There's someone in the house." She told him, slipping out of bed and pulling her gun from the bedside drawer.

He heard the creek of the floor board outside their bedroom door, as he grabbed his own gun from the drawer. "Go in the bathroom, now." He ordered her in a near whisper.

Catherine was about to argue with him, but the look on his face told her not to push her luck. She nodded her head and quickly and silently slipped into their bathroom, taking his phone from him as she passed. Catherine dialled HPD, reporting a home invasion and rattling of the address for the dispature before ending the call. Hitting Chin's number on speed dial she quickly filled him in. The Hawaiian man assuring her he would contact Kono and head over there.

Catherine heard a shot ring out, recognizing the sound of Steve's sig, she sighed in relief. She could hear the sound of flesh hitting flesh as she leaned against the bathroom door just listening. She placed her hand over her mouth to stop any sound coming out as she heard another gunshot ring out. She knew instantly it was Steve as his hiss of pain reached her through the door. She carefully opened the door, aiming her gun as she stepped round the edge.

Steve had one of the intruders pinned against the wall, attempting to get the gun out of the man's hand. Cath could make out the bloody wound to Steve's arm. A noise in their doorway alerted her to another intruder, she watched as he raised his weapon in Steve's direction and Cath fired her weapon. Her shot hit the man and she watched as he crumpled to the ground.

Steve slammed the guys hand down on the dresser, causing him to release the weapon. He kicked the hand gun in Cath's direction as she moved to cover the guy he had pinned to the wall. "He moves shoot him." he told her, checking the other two men for a pulse. "There dead."

A noise from down stairs alerted them to more people in the house. They both tensed prepared to take on more till a voice called upstairs. "Steve, Catherine." Danny called after he had cleared the downstairs of the house.

"Upstairs." Steve called stepping over the two bodies lying across the landing.

"You okay?" Danny asked taking in the scene in his friend's bedroom as he flicked on the light. He pulled the guy Cath was covering over to the stairs handing him off to one of the responding officer's. "Take him to the Palace."

"Yeah, we're both okay." Steve reassured turning to look at Catherine who was disappearing into the bathroom. Emerging a few minutes later with the first aid kit from under the bathroom sink.

"And yet your bleeding, babe." Danny pointed out, only just noticing the gaping wound in his partners arm.

"It's just a scratch." He played down.

Cath shook her head, pushing him down onto the edge of the mattress as she began cleaning and dressing the wound for him.

Chin and Kono walked into the bedroom behind Duke who was organising the removal of the two bodies on the landing. "This wasn't just a simple B&E. We've found their van outside they brought duct tape, cable ties and rope with them." Chin informed. "It looks more like a kidnapping."

"It has to be something to do with Khalid and Hassain." Steve pointed out. "I'll get dressed and we can head to the Palace." He told the assembled group.

"You're going to the hospital, Steve." Cath informed him. "You need stitches, and my needlecraft skills aren't as good as what Freddie's we're." She told him as she tidied the first aid supplies away.

"Fine, we'll stop by the hospital first." Steve agreed.

Danny, Chin and Kono were grinning at their boss's easy acceptance of stopping by the hospital. Danny was just about to tease Steve over that, when Catherine sent him a glare that stopped him in his tracks.

...

Iolani Palace

Interrogation room

0800 hrs

Danny and Chin had been with the witness for the past two hours with little progress being made. He either didn't understand English or was using the excuse to stall them. The sound of the door unlocking drew their attention away from the suspect. Steve pushed the door open allowing Catherine to step through before him.

Danny took in the sling on his partners left arm as he stalked towards the suspect. The man looked uneasily at him, his glance going back and forth between Steve and the door. "He tell you anything?" Steve questioned, walking around the chair and kicking at the metal legs.

"Nope. He's playing along the whole I don't understand line." Danny told him, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Who sent you? Steve asked in Farsi, rattling the chair again. Steve sent a look in Catherine's direction, and she repeated the question in Pashtu receiving no answer either.

Steve shook his head grinning at the suspect. "Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. Danny get me a bucket of water a towel, and a pair of pliers." Steve told his partner watching the fear on the man's face.

"Seriously, you're going to water board him?" Danny asked pushing himself of the wall and moving towards the door.

"Yes, unless you have another idea?" Steve asked his partner with a grin.

"How about sticking a grenade in his hand and pulling the pin out? I mean it's probably quicker, right?" Danny replied, enjoying the fear on the man's face.

"Only one problem with that Danny, if he drops it we'd all be dead." Cath pointed out as she moved to stand behind the man. "Broken fingers are always a good motivator."

The man was attempting to keep them all in his line of vision, as Steve moved to stand behind him, grabbing his head and pulling it backwards. "Do you really want me to do this the hard way?" He asked him.

"Okay, I'll go get you what you need." Danny announced moving towards the door and leaving the room.

Chin looked at the man handcuffed to the metal chair in front of him. "I'd tell them what you know." Chin suggested before turning to Steve. "I'll leave the both of you too it."

"Probably wise." Steve agreed with a smirk in Chin's direction, as the Hawaiian man left the room.

""Now it's nice and cosy." Steve told the man, as Catherine moved to stand in front of him.

"You know what really pisses me off?" She asked Steve, who was looked at her with a grin on his face, realising she was playing with the suspect. "They were in our bedroom."

"Yes they were." Steve agreed.

"They saw me in just your t-shirt, Steve."

"They did, I'm not very happy about that either." Steve agreed, looking up as he heard the knock on the door. Danny entered setting the bucket of water down by the door and handing Cath the towel and pliers. "Mahalo. You staying?" He asked Danny.

"Sure why not." Danny said leaning against the wall and crossing his arms against his chest once more.

...

Five-0 HQ

1000hrs

"Okay we have an address for Hassain. There using a warehouse in Pearl City." Steve announced as the three of them entered the bull pen.

Danny moved towards the smart table and brought up the information on the location. "This is where they've set up shop. It's just of the Kamehameha highway." He told them.

"Get SWAT and HPD to the location, tell them to surround the building, but wait for us to get there." Steve told Catherine as they all moved towards the door.

"I'll contact Lou and get him to meet you down there." Catherine shouted after them.

"Get a hold of Sam, let him know we've a location and that we're about to pick them up." Steve turned at the door way to call back to her.

"Be careful." She insisted as he turned and left the room. She shook her head as she saw him slipping his arm out of the sling to test his mobility with the damaged flesh.

...

Warehouse  
Pearl City  
Sunday 1100 hrs

The Five members of Five-0 we're stood behind the black SUV that housed there equipment as they tacked up. Lou had arrived a few minutes ago, and they had quickly brought him up to speed on the situation.

"You are going to be alright doing this with your arm?" Lou asked as he took in the white bandage on Steve's left bicep.

"Yeah, it's just a scratch." Steve played down the injury.

"Don't worry Lou. Steven even went and got it checked out at the hospital like a good boy, didn't you?" Teased Danny with a grin on his face.

"Shut up, Danno." Steve fired back, not wanting to get into a discussion on his easy compliance with Catherine earlier.

"You know I hate it when you call me that." He snarked back at his partner who was busy smirking at him. "And don't think I'm going to be distracted from telling Lou how you voluntarily went to the hospital."

"I think I need to hear how you managed that one." Lou said with a chuckle. Steve was known for playing down his injuries, and usually Danny had to cajole and push at him to get him to comply.

"It wasn't Danny." Kono said. "Catherine told the boss he was getting checked out."

"Yes she did. When Steven was about to head to the Palace to interrogate our suspect, she told him he had to go to the hospital first." Danny grinned at Steve enjoying teasing him over the subject.

"You know if you found it so amusing, I'm surprised you held it in this long." Steve growled out at him.

"You're fiancée sent me a glare that told me in no uncertain terms I was a dead man if I did." Danny informed him, making the other's chuckle.

"Very wise not to piss off a pregnant woman." Lou agreed with Danny.

"Especially the Ramboette." Danny agreed with Lou. "We've all seen her in action."

Steve grinned proudly at that, not saying another word as he checked the weapon in his hand and prepared to enter the warehouse. He called Catherine at HQ to ensure she had the camera feed from the surrounding area's set up.

 _"Hey Sailor. I've called in a few favours with Naval Intel and we have use of an Icon satellite. I'm bringing up the imagery now."_

"Can you pin point exact locations." He asked as he put the call on speaker.

 _"Yes. Heat signatures indicate twelve people, six in what looks to be an office or sleeping quarters at the rear of the building. Two in a second office with possibly a guard outside, the other three are regularly moving. I'd assume some sort of patrol. I'm sending you the footage to your P.D.A." Catherine told him._

"Is there any cctv in the building we can tap into?" Danny asked as he got a look at the footage Cath had sent them.

 _"No. There's no working camera's at all in the area. Only the traffic cameras. I'd assume they made a point of disabling anything they could when they first moved in." Catherine surmised._

"That would make the most sense. They would have to keep a low profile to prevent them from being identified." Steve conceded. "Catherine, we're about ready to breach. Keep an eye on anyone trying to exit the building?" He told her.

 _"Copy." She said._

HPD had already cordoned of the area evacuating some of the surrounding businesses as a precaution. The SWAT Captain approached Steve and the rest of Five-0. "Commander, I've got shooters on all the surrounding rooftops. Any of them try sneaking past you, my boys will have them." He notified them.

"We have twelve tangos in the building. Six in an office at the back, two in a secondary office with a guard outside and three guards roving the building. Our main targets are Hassain and Khalid, your boy's got the photos, right?" Steve asked.

"Yes they know who we're after." Ryan confirmed.

"If you have to take them out, do it." Steve ordered as Ryan moved back towards his people, ready to enter the warehouse.

Everyone took up positions around the building, ready for Steve to give them the go ahead. At his signal Five-0 and SWAT quickly entered the building, moving quietly around the stacks of crates that we're littered around the floor of the warehouse.

Chin and Kono flattened themselves against the wall as they spotted the shadow of a man appear on the floor ahead of them. Moving carefully around behind a packing crate they waited for the man to pass. Chin grabbed hold of the man from behind and pressed down on his windpipe till he passed out. Kono quickly checked for a pulse and zip tied his hands behind his back.

Steve and Danny had just taken down the other two guards when Catherine notified them of movement from the office.

 _"We have movement from the six in the rear office. Four tangos headed your way, repeat four headed your way." Catherine informed through the com link._

"Copy that." Steve replied as he indicated for SWAT to hold their position behind the crates they were currently using as cover. He indicated to Ryan they were expecting four more, the Captain nodding his head in confirmation.

Steve could see Lou on the other side of the warehouse, moving around some heavy machinery in order to out flank the tangos. Unfortunately one of the four men spotted Lou, and bringing his AK 74 up to aim at him. Steve heard a shot ring out from his right, a glance telling him it was Kono just before the three remaining men opened fire on them.

Everyone moved to cover as a hail of bullets came their way. Steve noticed Danny firing blindly over the top of the packing crate he was using as cover in an attempt to hit any of the targets. A groan came from his left, and he turned to see one of the SWAT guy's bleeding from a shoulder wound. "Danny cover me." He called as he moved towards the wounded man, pulling him behind cover and to safety.

Ripping of a strip of his shirt he stuffed it into the hole in the other man's arm. He cried out in pain, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "I know it hurt's. This is just till we can get the paramedics in to treat you. Hang in there, okay?" He reassured patting the man on the arm before moving back towards Danny and returning fire.

"He okay?" Danny asked glancing at the bleeding man beside Steve.

"Shoulder wound, bullet's still in." Steve informed. "He's okay for now."

"We need to find a way to get around behind them." Danny commented as he spotted Chin and Kono being kept pinned down by the shooters bullets.

"Draw their fire." He called through the com link. The members of Five-0 instantly firing at once allowing Steve to move out from cover and away from the rest of the team. He moved as quickly as he could towards Lou who was still pinned down behind the heavy machinery. He could hear Danny grumbling from his position.

"Stupid idiot." Danny called after him. He waited till Steve was in place and drawing there fire away from his partners direction before he moved himself. He reached Steve's side dropping down to crouch behind the machine as a ping of bullets hit the metal.

Chin and Kono had moved from their spot behind the packing crates moving towards the stairs at the side of the building to access a gantry that spanned the building. Kono quickly moving into position to take a shot at one of the shooters.

Steve was busy firing at the men who had been joined by another two men. They heard a couple of screams and a glance around the corner of the machinery confirmed they had killed two of the men. A shot rang out and another one fell to the ground from a head shot. Steve looked up towards a gantry and spotted Kono, giving her a brief smile and nod.

The remaining two gunmen began to move backwards towards the rear of the building, shooting wildly around as they moved. They moved behind a crate and all went silent a moment later when they heard glass breaking from the window behind the two men. Steve quickly moved to check there last two tangos; realising shots had been fired from a sniper's riffle. A glance out of the window confirming that SWAT had taken the two men down.

"Cath do we still have the three in the office? He asked her.

 _"There heading out the back exit. There's a black transit van parked out the back, looks like they could be heading towards it." She told them watching the feed._

"Copy that." He said as they moved outside to intercept the last of the men.

They quickly spotted the three men as they moved towards the black van that Catherine had identified. One of the men opened fire at them as they spotted Steve and the rest of five-0. Chin shot at the man, hitting him in the chest as he crumpled to the ground. Steve shot at the other two men, quickly wounding one man in the shoulder and the other in the chest. With Danny, Lou and Kono covering them, Steve and Chin quickly disarmed them.

"Cath we'll need paramedic's. But we have Khalid and Hassain." He told her in relief.

" _Paramedics are on their way, and I've called Max to come and take the bodies." She told him, before asking in concern. "Is everyone okay?"_

"The team's fine Catherine." He told her, listening to her sigh of relief.

 _"Sam's notified the Oahu office to collect Khalid and Hassain. I'll inform them we're transporting them to Tripler for treatment." Catherine informed him, aware that for security reasons they would have to be treated by the military._

"Thanks'. We'll escort them to Tripler to hand them over. No way am I letting those two out of my sight for even a minute." Steve informed her.

...

Tripler Army Medical Centre  
1400 hrs

"Commander McGarrett?" The Army Doctor called as he approached.

"Doctor." He said turning to look at the other man.

"I've sent Khalid through to surgery, but I don't see any problems. The chest wound hasn't nicked any arteries or hit bone so he should be fine. Hassain has a shattered collar bone which once we've removed the bullet should make a full recovery. I'd probably want to keep the pair of them for a few days' once out of surgery just to make sure of no complications." He explained to the Commander.

"NCIS are on route to pick them up. They both have links to the Taliban and Al Qaeda so you'll need an armed escort for them at all times." Steve informed the Doctor.

"I won't treat them any differently, Commander. I took an oath to save lives, no matter which Country or God they serve." The Doctor warned him.

"I'd expect no different Doctor. I'm only pointing out they will be charged on terrorism charges, so all security measures can be met." He told the Doctor.

"I need to return to my patients." The Doctor informed as he turned, returning to the operating room.

Iolani Palace  
Sunday 1600

Catherine was nervously pacing around the bullpen as she waited for Steve and the rest of Five-0 to return to HQ. Steve had called Catherine's cell an hour ago to inform her they we're all on their way back from Tripler. Although he had assured her that none of them had been injured she still needed to see for herself that he was okay.

Khalid and Hassain had both come through surgery and we're now under the watchful eyes of the NCIS agents from the Oahu office. NCIS would be arranging for them to be transported to the mainland for trial and incarceration in a Federal prison once the Army Doctor gave the all clear for transportation.

Hassain had been extremely vocal towards Steve. It had given answers at least as to why they had targeted Steve and herself at their home. Hassain had blamed them both for rescuing the children and stopping there sickening training camps. It seemed Hassain had wanted them both to pay with their lives.

A noise behind Catherine caused her to turn quickly, relief on her face as she saw everyone entering the bullpen. Steve's shirt was ripped along the bottom edge, blood staining the shirt and the knee of his cargo pants. She could see blood stains on everyone's clothes, but thankfully she couldn't see signs of injuries on anyone.

Steve sent a reassuring smile her way as he moved towards the smart table where she was stood. "Danny's suggested dinner at Side Street." He told her quietly.

"Sound's good." Catherine agreed as she returned his smile.

"Paperwork can wait till the morning." Declared Steve as he slipped his arm around Catherine's waist and guided her towards the door. A chorus of agreement coming from the rest of the team as they all followed the two of them out of the door.

...

Side street  
Sunday 1900 hrs

Danny looked around as he entered Side Street, spotting Steve and Catherine at the three usual table. He slowly made his way over to them, watching the grin on Steve's face at something Catherine had said to him. Danny smiled, glad to see the happiness back on his friends face again. Steve looked up just as Danny reached the table.

"We the first to arrive?" Danny asked glancing around the room again.

"Yeah, you want one?" Steve asked him pointing to the drink on the table as he got up to head in the direction of the bar.

"I do. You do have your wallet don't you?" He enquired with a grin.

Steve just grinned at him as he moved towards the bar, ordering there drinks.

"You know as Best man, I'm responsible for arranging Steve's Stag do." Danny mentioned to Catherine as he kept a close eye on Steve at the bar.

"Are you asking my permission to get him drunk and thoroughly embarrass him Danny?" Catherine grinned.

"Sort off." Danny agreed.

"Danny you don't need my permission. As long as you get Steve to the Chapel on Saturday I'll be more than happy." Catherine told him sincerely.

"Just so we're clear that does include no Strippers to be included anywhere. Right?" Danny tried to clarify.

"Absolutely no stripper's, Danny." Catherine clarified.

"That goes for you as well." Steve informed her as he returned to the table and handed them both their drinks.

"I've already informed Kono." Clarified Cath. "Although I have no idea what Trisha and Julia might of planned."

"Yeah, that's a point, Danny. SEAL team 6 might have planned a few things as well." Steve pointed out a look of worry crossing his face at the thought of what they might come up with.

Danny was grinning. "Do I detest fear on the super-SEAl's face."

...


	5. Chapter 5

**AUTHORS NOTE**

 **This is will only be a short Chapter as Steve and Catherine finally get the happy ending we've all wanted to see for the past couple of years. I felt cheated after 6.03 aired and spent a while throwing idea's around in my head.**

 **I know a lot of people felt like Steve needed to move on (obviously not true McRoll fans), but the general conclusion seemed to be that Steve would be seen as weak for forgiving Catherine, and taking her back after everything she'd put him through. I wanted to give Steve the chance to take Catherine back without the need for him to seem weak at the same time.**

 **I felt that he would always forgive Catherine for fulfilling her duty to her country, as it's something he would always do himself. The conversation that he had with Catherine in his office during 6.02 puts everything they believe into the words. "The job always come's first for us."**

 **I also wanted to address the subject of Lyn in the story as I feel that when Catherine does come back on the show (My fingers are crossed and I'm hoping like crazy that she does) she should be explained, and Steve should feel guilty for not waiting on Catherine. I firmly believe that the man we all came to love for his sense of loyalty and integrity would feel guilt and remorse over the fact he slept with another women while still in love with Catherine.**

 **I wasn't a fan of the Lyn character right from the start. Not because of the actress that plays her, just because in my eyes the only woman he should be with is Cath. I'm afraid I couldn't help but add a little bit of Lyn wump to the story.**

 **And I couldn't help but add the idea of a baby; I mean who doesn't love the idea of Steve McGarrett in daddy mode. We all know from watching him play Uncle Steve with Grace and Joan that he's going to make a great Father one day.**

 **I've made the decision to give the couple a break on the eve of their wedding by not having them throw themselves into a case. I've decided they deserved a break and a little fun with family and friends. Couldn't resist the girls kicking ass with the boy's.**

 **I know this chapter is a lot slower than any of my other's, and I'm hoping that the wedding is as realistic as possible. I took the concept for the McRoll wedding from memories of my own wedding. I've attempted to remove as much of the religion out of it as I could which I think has possibly added a bit of confusion in some areas.**

 **If anyone would like to make any suggestions on correcting any of it, please feel free. Criticism is always welcome if it will make the story better.**

 **I only hope you've enjoyed reading the story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.**

 **Lots of Love xxxx**

...

THE START OF A NEW CHAPTER.

Saturday 16th April

Navy Chapel

Ford Island-Pearl Harbor

1340 hrs.

The small chapel was filled with a sea white and black uniforms on both sides of the aisle as the guests escorted there female companions to their seats. The women taking in the simple floral decorations by the alter, a few raising inquisitive eyebrows at the lack of extravagance on display.

At the front of the chapel the Groom was looking resplendent in his dress whites as he stood with his best man waiting for his bride to arrive. He kept turning to glance to the back of the room to see which of their friends had managed to make it to their wedding. Being Military they both understood that sometimes TAD's could not be avoided.

"Will you stop twitching? You're making me nervous." Danny whispered to him.

"I am not twitching." Steve declared.

"Well what do you call it when you keep checking behind you? You look like you're looking for the exit to make a run for it." He growled at him quietly.

"Well I'm not going anywhere." Steve told him firmly before asking worriedly. "You still have the ring?"

"Yes I still have the ring, Steven. You can stop panicking." He reassured his partner.

...

Thursday 1000hrs

"Whatever happened to the going out for beer and a Stripper?" Danny asked Joe as they all arrived at the training center Joe had arranged for today.

"Didn't think you'd want you daughter included in that one." Joe pointed out as Grace moved to join her father. "Or Steve's future father in law."

"As long as Elizabeth doesn't find out." Patrick Rollins said with a grin.

Catherine snorted at that. "No amount of training would protect you, once mom finds out." She told him causing the others to laugh. "And she would find out."

"Still doesn't answer the question of why we're here." Danny pointed out, still not receiving an answer.

"Men verse's the Ladies?" Joe asked looking around at the assembled group.

"You game?" Steve asked Catherine with a grin.

"Absolutely." She confirmed returning his grin.

"You know I see a little bit of a disadvantage here?" Kelly Hart pointed out as she moved towards Steve and Catherine.

"Only for the guy's Kelly. We are so going to nail them." Cath stated earning her a few smirks from the two assembled SEAL teams that were present.

"Any chance we can swap Danny for Grace or Kono?" Teased Steve, laughing at his friends sputtered indignation.

"Maybe we could swap Deeks for Kensi." Callen mentioned to Sam.

"I'd be happy to swap him for Michelle." Sam responded.

"Really guy's, where's the loyalty of brotherhood?" Deeks asked.

"I'm just thinking I'd rather not have Kensi shoot me, even if it is with a paintball." Callen added as Sam nodded his head in agreement.

"Looks like we've got the boy's running scared." Kensi teased as she high fived Catherine.

"A few little ground rules." Joe ground out looking around at the large group gathered around him. "We have noncombatants playing so we pick our shots with care. Anyone who doesn't look like an adult is not to be fired upon."

"Everyone uses' body armor and upper body shots only." Steve added as he glanced at Catherine before turning to make eye contact with the two SEAL teams.

The two SEAL team nodded their heads in agreement. Although this was only a bit of fun for everyone involved, the paintball would still cause pain and bruising if it impacted on any uncovered parts of the body.

"Okay lets gear up." Joe told them as they all started pulling on the protective equipment they needed to stay safe.

Steve moved to help Mary into the TAC vest that she held in her hands as Catherine went to help Grace with hers. "You need to make sure the straps are tight Mary." He explained. "Otherwise there's a possibility for the vest slipping and a bullet getting you."

"You know this wasn't what I had pictured for a girl's day out before your wedding" She mentioned earning a grin from him her brother.

"Hey this was all Joe's idea, but I have to agree with him; it is very much Cath and me." Steve told her as he glanced around at the group of military, police and civilian friends that were pulling on the protective equipment. Danny was helping Nahele pull on his vest, while Kono and Chin were helping Lou to get his family into their own. Glancing round the clearing, Steve could see more of their friends assisting the nonmilitary or Police trained.

Joe and Gutches were moving between everyone, ensuring they were safe enough to begin the exercise. "Ladies, you'll be guarding home base. Gentlemen, and please note I'm using that term loosely as there are in fact real ladies present today." Joe informed earning chuckles from the SEAL's present. "You'll be attempting to storm home base. Let's move."

The two groups split up as the women headed towards the command center that would be there base of operations. Once they reached the area Catherine began organizing everyone into groups. "Kono, Kensi find a high place to sit this out for now. Pick the guy's off as they approach." Catherine instructed them. "You both know how Sam and Steve are going to approach this; we use that to our advantage."

"Gotcha." Kono said as they both moved off to find higher ground.

"Nell I want you to stick with Grace, Samantha and Shannon. The guy's won't attempt to shoot any of you, but you make sure that you fire at them." She said with a grin.

"Okay." Nell agreed with her moving the kids to a spot inside the building where they would have plenty of cover.

"The rest of you pair off and keep your eyes open. The guys are going to pair up and come at us from all directions, make sure we have eyes on each side of the compound. If you see something move, shoot at it. If you have to move make sure to cover your partners." Catherine outlined, watching as everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "Mary, you're with me."

"Steve this is your op." Joe told him.

"Cath's going to have Kono and Kensi on high ground taking us out as we approach. She'll have the kids out of harm's way in the center of the compound and I'm pretty sure that Cath will have paired all of them up. They'll be watching all side for our approach." Steve told them.

"You've got two SEAL teams at your disposal." Gutches pointed out.

"But they have Cath who knows how those two SEAL team's work." Steve explained.

"Kitten's played paintball with us plenty of times in the past." Mick told Gutches and the members of SEAL team 9.

"For real?" Lieutenant Jacks asked in disbelief.

"That little girl of mine can take care of herself." Patrick agreed with pride.

"You'd do well to not under estimate the Ladies." Chin commented, knowing full well what Kono, Catherine and Kensi were capable of.

"Everyone ready to get our Backside's wupped?" Lou asked in a jovial tone. "I will point out that I do intend to go down fighting."

"Hoo-ya." Shouted the SEAL's as they all checked their weapons.

"Guy's, remember there are children and civilian's present, and avoid shooting my Fiancée." He recapped for everyone again.

Catherine glanced around the clearing from her position behind the old battered truck that she was currently using as her cover. Mary was beside her wearing a happy grin that reminded Catherine of Steve when he was field stripping his weapon for fun. Shaking her head at the image she spoke softly to Mary. "You're enjoying yourself?

"Yeah, I am." Mary said sending another grin in Catherine's direction.

"Movement to the left." Cath informed as she brought her gun up ready to fire just as two shots rang out from above the building. Catherine grinned as she saw Kamekona and Flipper splattered in pink paint from Kono and Kensi's well aimed shots.

"Target's South." Vicky and Julia both shouted from there position's at the rear of the command post. Shots ringing out as the women opened fire, keeping the men pinned down.

"Everyone, eyes open." Catherine warned, waiting for the attack to come from all angles. It didn't take long, the women all shouting to say they had visuals as they opened fire.

Catherine spotted Danny as moved he out of the bushes trying to keep low to the ground as he moved across the clearing. Catherine was scanning the area to look for Steve even as Mary started firing at Danny who was lay in the grass, his torso now covered in pink paint. She watched as several of the guys were hit, dropping to the ground as per game rules. She knew from the sounds of fire coming from around her several of the women had also fallen in battle.

She watched as a three man team breached her perimeter and headed towards the center of the building to attack them from within. Grinning to herself she waited for the gunfire to erupt from the inner room that Nell and the kids were using. She heard Nell's shout of triumph.

"Insertion team eliminated." Nell called out to the surrounding women as she grinned at the kids who were busy high fiving each other after taking out Lou, Chin and Nahele.

"Sorry baby." Kensi called out as she took a sniper shot at Deeks, before turning her sights on Callen who moved just as she pulled the trigger. She growled in frustration about to aim again when she caught sight of a target moving towards Catherine's location. She took aim quickly firing, grinning when she saw Joe covered in pink paint lowering himself to the ground.

Catherine realized they were quickly losing the ability to hold the outer perimeter. "Fall back." She called, covering Mary as they both made their way back towards the walls of the building. Spotting a couple of SEAL team 9 heading towards them she aimed in their direction, watching in satisfaction as they dropped to the ground.

As the women quickly re-grouped in the building, Catherine did a quick head count. She still had 14 people left, and at a rough guess Steve probably had a similar number. They all fanned out ready for the guys to come for them as they took up positions by the windows.

Steve glanced around at what was left of his team, glad this was only a bit of fun. He was down to four SEALS, two NCIS agents, one M.E and himself. He watched as Mick and Bart signaled they were moving in Sam and Callen doing the same from his other side. Jacks and Cutches moved out of his sight as they moved behind the building. Steve gestured for Max to stay behind him as he moved carefully towards the building.

He caught a glimpse of Catherine as she fired out of the window taking out Mick, just as a shot from above took out Callen. Shots from the back of the building rang out, and Steve shook his head as he imagined Jacks and Cutches had probably just gone down. Sam was currently laying down cover fire for Bart who was currently making a quick dash across the compound.

Bart reached the safety of the compound wall and laid down covering fire of his own so Sam, Max and himself could move towards the building. Max was shot as he made his way across leaving just Sam, Bart and Steve to carry on. Spotting Mary out of the corner of his eye he turned and fired hitting her squarely in the chest just as he felt an impact hitting his own.

Glancing to Mary's side he spotted Catherine grinning as she lowered the weapon she had just fired at him. He was just about to move towards her when he felt several more rounds hitting him from various directions. He heard the distinct laughter of his Ohana and SEAL team as they pelted him with paint pellets.

"Okay guy's I think you've all had enough fun." Steve said holding up his hands in the ultimate sign of surrender.

...

Saturday 16th April

Navy Chapel

Pearl Harbor

1340 hrs.

Catherine was sat facing the mirror, nervously twisting her hands in her lap as Mary and Kono stood behind her pinning her hair into place. They had pulled her hair back into a loose chignon a few loose strands falling down her face in a loose curl to soften the look. Grace picked an orchid up from the dressing table passing them to Kono who began pinning the delicate flowers into Catherine's hair.

Mary was attempting to occupy Joan who was becoming restless at being cooped up in the small dressing room of the Chapel. Mary had already dressed the little girl who kept spinning around in the dress to see the shirt twirling around. "Princess." She cried out excitedly to her mother.

"Yes sweetheart, you look like a Princess." Mary reassured her daughter as she attempted once more to get the little girl to sit down, so that she could slip in to her dress. Realizing it was a lost cause to keep her still, Mary came up with an idea. "How about you go and see what Uncle Steve is doing."

"Unca Teve." The girl cried excitedly; moving towards the door with her mother trailing behind her.

Mary picked Joan up as she slipped out the room and headed towards where she could see Chin and Kamekona greeting the wedding guests. He looked up as she approached alarm evident on her face.

"Mary. Is everything alright?" Chin worriedly asked.

"Yes it's fine. Joan's getting a little restless, can you take her to Steve while we finish helping Catherine to get ready." She asked him quickly.

"Of course." He readily agreed taking the little girl from her mother's arms. Turning he headed into the Chapel in search of Steve.

"Unca Teve." The girl cried excitedly jumping up and down in Chin's arms as she realized that he was taking her to see her favorite Uncle.

Steve turned at the sound of his niece calling his name, grinning as he spotted the little girl in Chin's arms. He raised an eyebrow at Chin, just as Joan threw herself in to his arms wrapping her chubby little arms around his neck.

"Joan was getting restless and Mary said they needed to help Catherine get into her dress." Chin explained watching as a goofy grin appeared on his friends face.

"Unca Teve. Princess." She told him, patting his cheek to get him to look at her.

"Yes you do look like a Princess." Steve agreed grasping the little girls hands as she attempted to grab the colorful ribbons pinned to his chest.

"Mary wants you to watch her while the Ladies get ready." Chin told him before returning to his place at the back of the Chapel.

"Want Down, Unca Teve." Joan told him as she attempted to wriggle out of his arms.

Steve lowered her to the ground, crouching so he was at her level. "You can't run about in here." He said as he straightened the ruffles of her dress.

"Unca Teve, play?" She declared as she pulled at his hands.

"Steve would you like me to take her?" Renee Grover asked as she approached him.

"No, she's fine." Steve told Renee, before turning back to Joan. "We can't play now, but mommy will take you on the swings in a little bit, okay?" He asked the little girl.

"Up," She declared slipping her hands back around his neck again, and snuggling into his shoulder as he held her against his side. Steve ignored the oohs, aahs and chuckles that were coming from behind him at his interaction with his niece.

...

Grace was pulling the cobalt blue dress bridesmaid dress over her head, as Mary returned to the room. "Grace, who you like some help with that?" Mary asked the young girl kindly.

"Yes please. Can you do the zip for me?" Grace was feeling excited at the prospect of being part of Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath's wedding.

"Of course." Mary said moving to stand behind her as she pulled the zipper closed. "There you go."

"Mahalo." Grace thanked her.

"Let's get the bride into her dress." Kono announced with a grin watching as a smile lit Catherine's face at her words.

Catherine was already moving across the room to pull the dress from the hanger as Mary and Kono helped her to slip the soft fabric over her head. Cath smoothed the fabric over her hips as Kono kneeled by her feet to pull the undershirt down so it would lay flat. Mary zipped the dress up and fluffed the cowl back a little with her hand so it draped smoothly over Catherine's back and waist.

Kono and Mary were quickly slipping in to their own dresses when a knock sounded on the door. Mary opened the door a crack to see who it was, smiling when she noticed Patrick Rollins stood in his Dress Whites.

"Is Catherine ready?" He enquired a beaming smile on his face when he caught sight of his only child. "You look stunning, baby girl." He told her proudly.

"Thanks' dad." Catherine said taking a deep breath as she took hold of the bouquet that Kono handed her and placing a hand on her father's arm.

Mary had slipped from the room, emerging a few minutes later with Joan. "Okay sweetie are you ready to scatter the petals on the floor like we practiced?" Mary asked her daughter as she handed the little basket of rose petals to her.

"Etals." The little girl agreed, sticking her chubby little fist into the basket to grab at the blue petals in side.

"Well let's get this Mission started." Patrick Rollins suggested as he steered Catherine to the door. Allowing the ladies to leave the room and take their places at the back of the chapel.

...

Steve stood up straighter, drawing himself to attention as he heard the music begin to play. The sounds of 'Everything I do' by Bryan Adams filtering softly through the Chapel's sound system. Steve smiled at Grace's choice of music for their Wedding. She'd asked them if she could pick the music as a surprise to them, and Catherine had readily agreed to the teenager's request.

Steve noticed Danny glance over his shoulder before he elbowed him to get his attention. He gestured to the back of the room before he turned, and Steve followed suit. He caught sight of his niece walking down the aisle with a little basket of flower petals which she was scattering on the floor as she walked. Joan was swinging from side to side making the ruffles of her dress swirl out. The dress was white with little puffy sleeves and blue flower petals stitched into the ruffles of the dress.

Grace was walking just behind Joan, looking very grown up in a floor length dress in cobalt blue. The dress floated around her legs as she walked; the bodice had a sweetheart neckline and was fitted. The broad halter neck beaded strap fastening behind neck. Her hair had been swept up on top of her head, a simple diamante pin holding the locks in place.

Mary and Kono moved down the aisle next, dressed in the same cobalt blue dress as Grace, there hair also resembling Grace's. They reached the bottom of the aisle, moving to their places at the front of the chapel so Catherine and her father could walk down the aisle towards Steve.

Steve's breath stopped as he caught sight of Catherine for the first time in her dress. She was a vision in white chiffon as she floated down the aisle towards him on her father's arm. The bodice of the dress had a light splattering of crystals on the pleated bodice that clung to her chest and a band of beading around her delicate waist.

He felt Danny elbow him again, and he turned to see what his partner wanted. "Not too late to back out?" Danny teased with a grin.

"SEAL's don't quit." Steve joked before turning back to watch Catherine once more a huge smile on his face. Her eyes were locked on his as she smiled her whole face lighting up as she moved closer to him. The scent of Orchid and pulmeria from Catherine's bouquet reaching him.

Patrick handed his daughter of to Steve, before stepping back and taking his seat at the front of the Chapel. Steve swallowed as Catherine turned to hand her bouquet to Kono, giving him the view of her back. Her back was completely bare showing of her pale skin as the fabric brushed across her waist. He itched to touch her, silently counting down the hours to when he would be able to get her alone.

He presented his hand to her palm up and she smiled as she spotted the pulmeria bloom he held. Taking it from his hand she slipped it behind her left ear with a grin just as the Chaplain began the service.

...

"What's with the flower?" Whispered Deeks as he sat forward to speak to Chin in the row in front of him.

Chin turned to look over his shoulder as he explained. "The Hawaiian custom of the pulmeria bloom placed behind the ear dictates if the woman is single or taken. Catherine is wearing her's behind her left which indicates she is taken."

"Wow. He'd know the custom, right?" Deeks asked.

"Yes. Steve is fully aware of the custom." Chin agreed with a smile.

"That's so sweet." Kensi said with a soft sigh.

"Yes, it is." Chin replied as he turned around to watch the ceremony as Grace stepped towards the podium to recite a piece from Corinthians. Chin knew the teenager had been ecstatic for the past few weeks since Catherine had asked her to do the reading for them.

"Love is patient and kind.

It is not jealous or boastful, not irritable or resentful, not arrogant or rude.

Love does not insist on its' own way.

It does not rejoice in the wrong, but rejoices in the right.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes in all things and endures all things.

Love never ends." Grace read to the assembled group her voice ringing out clearly through the small Chapel.

Danny was smiling proudly at his daughter as she left the little podium and returned to her seat. She'd been practicing the piece for the past week to make sure she got it right. He gave her a thumb up and she grinned at him broadly in return.

...

"Steven and Catherine have chosen their own vows. Steven if you'd like to repeat your vow's to Catherine." The Chaplain said.

Catherine you have been my best friend, playmate, confidant and my greatest challenge. But most importantly, you are the love of my life and you make me happier than I could ever imagine and more loved than I ever thought possible... You have made me a better person, as our love for one another is reflected in the way I live my life. So I am truly blessed to be a part of your life, which as of today becomes our life together."

"Catherine if you'd repeat your vows to Steven."

Steve, you have been my best friend, playmate, confidant and my greatest challenge. But most importantly, you are the love of my life and you make me happier than I could ever imagine and more loved than I ever thought possible... You have made me a better person, as our love for one another is reflected in the way I live my life. So I am truly blessed to be a part of your life, which as of today becomes our life together."

Danny pulled the rings from his pocket and handed them to the Chaplain so he could bless them before Steve and Catherine placed them on each other's fingers.

"Catherine, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body I honor you, all that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you." Steve said as he slipped the plain platinum band on to her left ring finger.

"Steve, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body I honor you, all that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you." Catherine said as she slipped the plain platinum band on to his left ring finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The Chaplain declared. "You may kiss your Bride." He added.

Steve smiled at Catherine as he slipped one hand around her waist and the other onto the back of her head as he sealed his mouth over hers. He felt her hands slip around his neck as he deepened the kiss dipping her slightly. A cough from behind him and Danny's whispered words 'Get a room' brought them both up for air.

...

Steve and Catherine were about to turn ready to go back down the aisle as husband and wife when a command came from behind them.

"Centre face." Patrick Rollins commanded.

Steve and Cath turned, and were presented with two perfectly formed rows of uniformed men, stood at attention, along with all the other male guests.

The voice of Patrick rang out through the Chapel once again. "Draw sabers" He commanded as the commissioned officers drew their swords, edge up into the air, carefully forming an archway.

They passed under the arch, symbolizing the safe passage into their new life. As they reached the end of the arch Mick Storm and Joe White lowered their swords demanding they kiss. Steve didn't need telling twice as he leaned down to kiss Catherine once again. Camera's clicked as the photographer and their guest's captured the scene.

"Return sabers." Patrick commanded as the officers lowered their weapons to their sides.

...

"How about you tell me where you're taking me for our honeymoon." Catherine asked as drove through the traffic on the way to the Hotel where they were having there reception.

"No way Lieutenant. That op is still classified above your pay grade." He told her in a jovial tone as he slowed the truck before making the turn into the Hilton's parking lot.

"Come on, Steve." Catherine pleaded with him as he threw the truck into park and got out of the truck and moved round to open the door for her.

"I might be willing to spill a few secrets," He whispered as helped her out of the truck. "For the right pay off." He teased.

"What did you have in mind, Commander?" She asked playfully tracing the button's on his uniform jacket.

"A kiss is a good place to start." He told her. Placing his hands on her hips he pulled her closer, a sexy grin on his face as he lowered his mouth to hers. He trailed a path of kisses along her jawline up her neck to whisper in her ear. "We've been to this country before."

He pulled back chuckling as Catherine huffed at him in frustration. Opening the back door of the Silverado and grabbing his sword of the back seat. He slid the sword back into place before placing his cover on his head and escorting her towards the hotel garden's where they were having the photos taken.

"Come on, Steve. Just tell me all ready." She pleaded.

"Not yet, I have plans." He informed her as they met up with the rest of the wedding party.

"Hey, about time you two arrived." Danny called as he spotted them.

...

Hilton Waikiki

Saturday 0600 hrs.

Steve led Catherine onto the dance floor, slipping his hand around her waist as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He danced her around the dance floor to another piece of music picked by Grace. He listened to the words of the song 'Breathless' as he spun her around the room, realizing how apt the words were.

If our love was a fairy tale

I would charge in and rescue you

On a yacht, baby, we would sail

To an island where we'd say I do

And if we had babies they would look like you

It'd be so beautiful if that came true

You don't even know how very special you are

You leave me breathless

You're everything good in my life

You leave me breathless

I still can't believe that you're mine

You just walked out of one of my dreams

So beautiful, you're leaving me breathless

And if our love was a story book

We would meet on the very first page

The last chapter would be about

How I'm thankful for the life we've made

And if we had babies they would have your eyes

I would fall deeper watching you give life

You don't even know how very special you are

You leave me breathless

You're everything good in my life

You leave me breathless

I still can't believe that you're mine

You just walked out of one of my dreams

So beautiful, you're leaving me breathless

You must have been sent from heaven to earth to change me

You're like an angel

The thing that I feel is stronger than love believe me

You're something special

I only hope that Ill one day deserve what you've given me

But all I can do is try every day of my life

You leave me breathless

You're everything good in my life

You leave me breathless

I still can't believe that you're mine

You just walked out of one of my dreams

So beautiful, you're leaving me breathless

You're everything good in my life

You leave me breathless

I still can't believe that you're mine

You just walked out of one of my dreams

So beautiful, you're leaving me breathless, breathless.

He spun her out of his arms and back again as she grinned at him happily. She slipped her arm around his neck and pulled him down to kiss her. "I love you." She whispered against his lips.

"I love you too, Catherine." He replied as he kissed her lips once more. "I should have told you a lot sooner." He apologized.

"Steve, all that matters is we're here right now." She pointed out, giving him a quick kiss as the song came to an end and their family and friends joined them on the dance floor.

Steve felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Danny standing there. "Time for me to dance with the Bride." He grinned.

"Just make sure to bring her back." He joked as his friend moved off to dance with Catherine.

"How about spinning me round the dance floor." Came a voice from behind him, one he recognized as Kelly Hart.

"My pleasure." He held his hand out as she placed her hand in his. "How are you doing?" He asked knowing that today must be difficult for her. Seeing all the uniforms, and hearing all the banter from the SEAL's present.

"It's been a little hard, but I wouldn't have missed this for anything." She told him honestly as he spun her round the dance floor. "Freddie would have been so happy for you. He knew how you felt about Catherine."

"Yeah. One of the last things he told me was not to mess it up with Catherine." He confided in her.

"That sounds like something Freddie would say." Kelly smiled at him, her eyes watery with tears as she thought about her late husband. "Cherish every moment you have together, Steve."

"Catherine's pregnant." He blurted out, pulling his cell from his pocket and flicking through the photos till he found the scan. "We're having a little boy." He told her as he passed her the phone to look at.

Kelly smiled at the image, her eyes studying the grainy image. "Congratulations. Have they tested for the SEAL gene yet?" She teased.

"The SEAL gene?" He asked in amusement.

"Yeah, that's the one where your child has no fear in the water." She joked as he laughed at her.

"I guess Cath and I should hope he has the SEAL gene then." He pulled her into a brief hug and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you and Emma could make it."

"Who's' the woman McGarrett's hugging?" Deeks asked Sam.

"Kelly Hart. Her husband Freddie was Steve's best friend; they were at Annapolis and went all through Buds together." Sam told them.

"He's dead?" Kensi asked quietly.

"He died about six years ago." Sam explained to them not elaborating on how long it had been till they could bury his remains.

A voice over came through the speakers of the sound system getting everyone's attention. They looked over towards the small stage at the end of the room where the petite woman was stood. "Can I have everyone's attention?" Kelly called. "I'm channeling Freddie here... I've just come by some classified Intel that the SEAL's needs to know. It seems that Smooth dog has just signed up for diaper duty."

A chorus of hoo-ya's could be heard from the SEAL's present in the room, as many of the other guest's wolf whistled or clapped at the significance of her words. Steve grinned at Kelly as he slipped his arm around Cath's waist pulling her to him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Speech." Someone called from the back of the room, and others took up the call as Danny grinned and pushed at Steve and Catherine till they stepped onto the stage.

Steve shook his head as he took the microphone from Kelly. "You nailed him Kelly." He told her with a smile.

She kissed his cheek as she moved past him, stopping to hug Catherine before she left the stage.

"You want to do this?" Steve asked Catherine hopefully.

"Not a chance, Sailor. Persevere and thrive on adversity." She told him with a grin.

"Funny." He told her.

"We had decided that we didn't want speeches, so this is totally of the bat. Ok, with that said. I'd like to thank my new in laws for letting me marry their daughter. I have to admit that the first time I met you Patrick it scared the hell out of me. She'd failed to mention that you would be one of my Commanding officer's once I joined the teams." There was a spattering of laughter from around the room.

"My best man Danny, what can I say? You've been an annoying pain in my six for the past five and half years, but I can't thank you enough for everything you've done over the past few weeks. I know Joe planned yesterday's activities, but seeing you with pink paint still on your face yesterday evening. Classic." He told his partner with a grin.

"That was your fault." Danny complained.

"Why's that my fault?" Steve asked in amusement.

"It was your sister that shot me." Danny pointed out as if that made everything clear.

"So why is it my fault that Mare shot you?" Steve queried again.

"Most normal grooms would have gone for a night on the town, but you? No you have to go for a gun fight with your fiancée. As if we don't get shot at enough with work, you want to do it for fun." Danny complained as the people around them chuckled at the usual banter.

"Mahalo Danny, for everything." He said.

Danny tipped his glass in their direction in acknowledgement not saying anything more.

"Chin, Lou, Kono, Kamekona and Mary. We both want to thank you for everything you did today. And Grace, you did a great job picking the music for us. Your thoughtful idea helped to take some of the pressure of your Aunt Catherine." He glanced over at Grace who was beaming at the praise he'd just bestowed on her.

Steve turned towards Catherine who was smiling at him. "Lastly; I need to thank my wife for organizing our wedding. Catherine knowing me as well as she does, realized I had no interest in any of the planning. So four weeks ago when we booked the Chapel, Catherine told me I didn't need to do anything. I just had to turn up on the day."

"Lucky S.O.B." Hollered Mick Storm from across the room.

Steve grinned at him. "Yes, I am. Danny has already pointed that out to me though." He turned to Catherine, his next words aimed directly at her. "Catherine; I know it's taken a while for us to reach this point in our relationship. My only regret is I didn't follow through with my plans to propose to you before you left on your mission. I'm just glad that you did agree to marry me after everything that's happened."

"I thought it was the other way around." Shouted Danny, smirking at his partner. "You told me Cath asked first."

Steve scowled at Danny, who just shrugged his shoulders not the least bit scared of him. Their friends and family were laughing at the scene unfolding before them. "You can shut up now Danno. Everyone enjoy themselves and guys feel free to get out of the ice cream suits."

A chorus of Hoo-ya's and wolf whistles rang out from the SEAL's and Sailors as they relished the idea of getting out of their uniforms.

...

After letting Catherine know he was heading up to their suite so he could drop his cover and sword of, he'd quickly left the reception. Slipping away from the room without anyone seeing him amongst the sea of white uniforms. The elevator door opened and he moved inside, noticing a woman was already in the car leaning against the wall. He looked up glancing across at her and froze. Standing there staring at him was the last person he wanted to see today.

"Lyn." He acknowledged cordially.

"Hello Steve. I almost didn't recognize you." She said, her eyes moving over him as she took in the uniform. "You look very handsome."

"Thanks," He said awkwardly not really knowing what to say to her.

"I guess you must be at some Navy function, right?" Attempting to get him to talk was not going very well. Lyn had hoped he'd change his mind after he'd broken it off, but he hadn't called in the past seven weeks.

"Not exactly. I'm at a wedding." He paused before adding, "Mine."

"I'm sorry did you say yours?" She asked with a small laugh thinking she'd heard him wrong.

"Yeah." He said simply, turning to watch the number's on the elevator moving upwards towards his floor.

Lyn didn't speak to stunned to say anything as she took in the man in front of her. She was trying to comprehend how he could go from not wanting a relationship with anyone several weeks ago to now committing to marriage with a woman he must have only known a few weeks. "That was quick." She managed to get out.

"I wouldn't call twelve years quick." He glanced at her watching as the penny finally dropped.

Lyn knew somehow he was back with the woman he'd bought the engagement ring for. Any hope of them getting back together was dashed at that. "Congratulation's." She said in a small voice devoid of all emotion.

The elevator pinged as it reached the twelfth floor. Steve sighed as the doors opened and Lyn left moving down the corridor towards one of the function rooms. He pressed the button for his floor as he leaned his head back against the wall and let out the breath he'd been holding. God that was awkward he thought.

As he reached his floor, another thought came to him. He'd have to let Cath know that Lyn was in the building in case they ran into her later. Ow God that was a mine field he didn't need to deal with tonight. His plans to run up to their room and quickly drop of his cover and sword were quickly turning into a nightmare.

...

"Where's Steve disappeared to?" Chin asked Catherine as he looked around the room not seeing Steve anywhere.

"Finally come to his senses." Teased Danny with a wink at Catherine to let her know he was joking.

"Maybe Patrick has finally caught up with him." Lou suggested to them.

"Well for everyone's information my husband has just nipped up to our room to drop his cover and sword off." Catherine informed them with a smile before a grin broke out on her face. "Plus he's got his cell with him so I can always track his GPS signal."

"Has the boss man told you where he's taking you yet?" Kono asked as eager as the rest of the team to find out the honeymoon destination.

"No. He's still keeping tight lipped on the subject." Catherine told them with a frustrated sigh.

...

Sunday 0200 hrs.

As they stepped of the elevator on their floor Steve swept her of her feet and carried her the rest of the way to their suite. Her breathy little giggles music to his ears as she slipped her hand into his hair and pulled his head towards hers for a kiss. Catherine slid the card into the lock as they reached the room and Steve pushed the door open.

"You look absolutely beautiful in that dress." He told her as he closed the door to their suite and lowered her to the floor.

"So you like it?" She said indicating the dress in a teasing tone as she twirled around.

"I've been looking forward to getting you out of it all night, Mrs. McGarrett." He said with a sexy drawl as he stalked towards her.

Her stomach fluttered in anticipation to his words. "Have you now, Mr. McGarrett." She replied breathlessly.

"I've been imagining everything I want to do to you." He whispered seductively as he kissed her lips. He began trailing kisses along her jawline and down her neck to lick and suck at her pulse point.

"Mm and what do you want, Commander." She purred seductively, moaning loudly when she felt one of his hands slide up to cup her breast. She slipped her hands across his shoulders, her delicate finger's going to the row of gold buttons on his uniform Jacket. She made quick work of the buttons, pushing at the fabric to get it of his shoulders.

"To make love to my wife." He whispered against the shell of her ear, delighting when he heard the soft sigh his words created. He helped her pull his jacket from his shoulder, throwing it over the chair in the corner even as he felt her fingers tugging at the buttons on his shirt. His hands slid around her back caressing her soft skin as he moved his hands down her body looking for the zip and sliding it down. "Someone's a little impatient." He murmured against her lips.

"I have a little confession of my own." She told him between teasing little kisses as she worked her way down his shirt buttons.

"Really?" He smirked against her lips.

"Mm, I've wanted to get my husband out of his uniform all night." She grinned looking into his eyes as she spoke the words softly. A huge smile lit his face just before he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

...

 **THE END XX**


End file.
